"Atlantic Empire" is one of my favorite TV series. Every time I hear the opening song, I get excited. Nucky is standing on the shore, watching the wine bottles floating on the sea and the waves crashing on the shore. Can't forget. This drama also made me fall in love with the top hats of that era and the leather shoes of Cheng Liang directly. It also made me want to buy a delicate cigarette case to force me, and I also want to put a sensual rose in the eyes of my clothes. is so handsome...
In addition to the beauty that everyone feels, this drama has given me more inspiration. In this article, I will talk to you about Nake's death. I think his death is inevitable by chance. The general trend of the times leads to! In order to explain the inevitability of Qingnak's death, I will take you through the history of American gangsters, which I think can be roughly divided into three stages:
1. From 1880 to 1930: the stage of division of the big Boss
At this stage, the United States was in a wave of immigration, and the gangster bosses represented by Brigadiers were born. They held huge wealth, controlled politics, manipulated officials, and made money by operating casinos, brothels, and collecting protection fees. Of course, these pioneers also completed the urbanization of the United States in the process of making a profit. Our protagonist Nake also appeared at this stage, following the brigadier general to learn to be a person and do things.
This stage lasted until around 1930. I call it the stage of division of the big Boss, because there were pioneers and planners like the brigadier general in this stage, such as Torrio and Colosimo in Chicago, Rothstein in New York, and Luciano, a lucky star. Those who are eager to try (the classic book, the prototype of the movie "The Godfather"), like the feudal feudal lords of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, they profit from their fiefdoms. Then the logic of the development of the struggle at this stage is: to compete for territory, the bigger the territory, the greater the benefits! In "Atlantic Empire", we see that the major bosses compete with each other like shops selling similar products on the same street. The more I earn, the less you get. Whoever cuts the cake more and who cuts less On the issue, the internal friction is serious . Each group has to spend a lot of labor costs to protect business, security, fire and other gangs. At that time, the environment was turbulent, the American economy was in the Great Depression, and people's careers were unstable. Like Nake, many people were willing to join the gang and become pioneers!
In 1920, Prohibition was promulgated in the United States, and the profits of smuggling alcohol increased a lot. On the one hand, the power of the major bosses reached an unprecedented peak, but on the other hand, we noticed that except for drugs and smuggled alcohol, there was no Other commercial activities expand the cake. To put it bluntly, this is a red ocean market, which directly leads to an extremely fierce competition for the cake. Most of the content of the entire "Atlantic Empire" shows such things.
2. 1930-1970: The Mafia Council was in power
The last season of "Atlantic Empire" came to the 1930s. Luciano, a lucky star, assigned killers to assassinate major bosses. Everyone knows that he is the prototype of the old godfather Don Corleone in the famous book and movie "The Godfather". The old godfather has a classic line that says : "There is a reason that he has long figured out, that you have to bear the insults imposed by society, because he understands that even the humblest, as long as they keep their eyes open, will sooner or later seize the opportunity to take revenge on the most powerful. Man. It is precisely because he understands this truth that Tang never gives up his humility, which is admired by all his friends." In fact, you will know after reading "Atlantic Empire" that Nake has maintained his humility to the greatest extent possible. But at best this only makes him less enemies, even if he does not die of James II, sooner or later he will die of other assassinations. The last scene of the play there is a lucky star Luciano Mafia organization meeting, so he is opening: "The round table, this makes sense, so nobody sat the host, not the boss, this is the boss of the group consisting of seven." This It marks that the American gangsters have entered the second stage - the stage of committee governance. This is the result of a general trend . Why do you say this?
To give an example of biological evolution, mammals often cost a lot to give birth to a child, but in order to protect their own interests, the male leader of the population will monopolize the right to mate, and will also kill a cub that is not his own. The internal friction is very large, the number of the population cannot be increased too much, and the power of the population is also limited. Until the emergence of monogamy, this system makes the population no longer spend a lot of energy on internal friction (does everyone have a spouse, everyone understands how many leaders), and the population can have the energy to expand the number and increase its power! In fact, the same is true of the Mafia. Their internal friction is too serious, forcing a new system to be created to alleviate this situation. Luciano's committee system, the basic strategies include: ① formulate policies that do not harm reporters, whistleblowers, politicians, etc. ② set up an assassination company to deal with people who do not follow the rules of the committee
So why did this committee system come into being in the 1930s, not before or after it? Just because Luciano is a lucky star, or is he visionary? of course not! ①First of all, Roosevelt's New Deal in 1933 brought economic recovery and social progress. Most ordinary people could earn money to support their families through legal means. The diversity and possibility of success have greatly increased compared with the past. After the members died in the civil war, it was difficult to have enough people. Willing to join the gang; secondly, the infighting in the Red Sea market makes everyone nervous even if they have wealth and cannot enjoy it. Most big bosses have the willingness to make changes, and those who feel that they are too arrogant and unwilling to change will die (such as The Doctor, Maranzano, and of course Nake in the play) ③ The pressure of the government on the Mafia is increasing day by day, and Al Capone's imprisonment is an example. , the government will not sit idly by, once it has strength, the government will undoubtedly eradicate the mafia. I think these three factors forced the American Mafia to make institutional changes.
3. After 1970: The Decline of the American Mafia
Although the Mafia has carried out "reform and reform", if you think about it a little, you will find that this kind of reform can only alleviate the problem, not solve it. He just made the various stages of internal friction so intense, but ① the internal friction still exists, the Mafia is not monolithic and has common interests ② the power gap between the Mafia and the government is constantly narrowing, and the ability to fight foreign enemies has not been enhanced ③ the Mafia is still engaged in crime In the industry, the ability to replenish new blood is still lacking, and fewer and fewer people are willing to enter this industry. That is to say, although the reform has continued its life, it cannot prevent the American Mafia from becoming a lonely company that operates illegal projects, is excluded by the government, and cannot attract talents. In the movie "The Godfather 3", Mike Corleone wanted to lead everyone to whitewash, but various internal frictions made him unable to achieve his goal. In 1970, Congress passed the Anti-Criminal Organizations Erosion of Legal Organizations Act (RICO), which was a sign of the government's ability to declare war on the Mafia, and it was the stage where I think the American Mafia began to decline . In the end, the government also used the mafia's internal friction to completely disintegrate them, so I won't go into details here.
The above are the three stages of American gangs that I have sorted out. After reading it, you should understand that, as Luciano said, "the old routines are outdated", the end of the big boss mode dominated by Nake in the 1930s is inevitable, and he is unwilling to retreat. Under the Boss position, his death is inevitable . So, is there a better system that can eliminate the internal friction of the Mafia on the one hand, and protect the Mafia from being killed by external forces from the government? Here I boldly express my own views, welcome everyone to discuss:
Let's take a look at the Italian Mafia. After the reunification of Italy, he can still stay with the government and rule together for so long. Why? In fact, the government has enough force to eradicate them, but the social gap left after the eradication of the Mafia requires the government to spend more energy to manage it. Because the Italian mafia has actually become an indispensable link, hub, and component for the normal operation of the government, the government has to rely on the mafia, the big hooligan, to manage other hooligans. There is actually a logic here: survival or death, the key depends on whether you can be replaced!
Back to American gangsters, ① to fight the government’s annihilation, they need to use the wealth in their hands to realize the transformation from social cancer to social elite and legalize their business. Godfather Mike took the first step of exploration ② to eliminate internal friction, he must have Change the interest structure within the gang, from competing for spheres of influence to interdependence. Assuming that Nake controls the transportation industry in the country, and everyone's business will be greatly affected without him, then the possibility of Nake being assassinated will be reduced. to the lowest.
The above are all personal thoughts and experiences. If there is any inadequacy, you are welcome to correct me and discuss together!
If you like it, please pay attention to my Zhihu account: Casela, to learn more about my sharing!
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