In the thousands and thousands of years that humanity has existed, culture has been the spark that has distinguished humans from any other animal known on Earth. With different sets of cultures and norms, it is no surprise that different groups of people break away from and ultimately turn against dominant ideologies. A simple term has emerged to describe this exact scenario; a term well known to every sociologist: counterculture. Countercultures range in every way, however there is one in particular that is most interesting in terms of its history and how it has shaped the world around it; It is best known as the Italian Camorra, a powerful and bloodthirsty mafia. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay According to Jonathan Steinberg's "Mafia", the Italian Camorra was simply called the Mafia, and although the term Mafia has been generalized to many other crime syndicates (e.g. Russian Mafia, Chinese Mafia, etc.), the Camorra was really the 'original. However, the exact date of origin or the founders are not actually known. Many sources date back as far as 1863, but the first documented cases of the Camorra appeared around the 1940s. The most concentrated Camorra activity is recorded in Sicily, but slowly migrates to Northern Italy. The region of Naples, Italy, however, eventually became the official headquarters of the Camorra as it is today (Steinberg pars. 1-2). The main objectives of the Camorra, or any organized criminal group, are the same as those of any legal business: to make money. The problem, however, is the act of making money through illegal means. John Pike's Camorra manifesto states that the main objective has always been to obtain profit by any means, good or bad. Organized crime was actually an ironic term, as the Camorra was not organized by traditional means. There were no leaders or elected officials. It naturally organized itself through different clans as states within a country. Many groups of armed gangs interact and coexist across territorial lines like packs of wolves. Although several Camorra clans exist, they continue to function as a unified group (Pike pars. 2-9). Regarding profits, the Camorra participates to a large extent in drug trafficking and prostitution, but most of the money is made through fraud in the public sector and blackmail of political leaders (Britannica par. 1). With organized crime taking place, social norms have been challenged in several sectors. ways. The most obvious rule they violate is how they make their profits, but there's a lot more to it than that. The downside is that the Camorra has contributed to the increase in drug addiction and sex work. Some families in local Italy have become intertwined with the Camorra, immediately associating many names with the criminal syndicate that more or less influenced the education of many children. The values of loyalty and hard work were defined in ways that differed from the norm. Depending on the most present clan, these values varied. According to Medagalia and Bregolin, the economic impact of the Camorra was great. They generated 30.1 billion dollars for the economy (Bregolin and Medagalia par. 4). This not only shaped society's view towards the Camorra, but also sparked the idea that it was an economic relief. This largely affected the number of people who turned to the Camorra in desperate need of financial stability. Not only that, but the organized crime so widespread in Italy has also left its mark in other parts of the world, thus creating stereotypes. Please note: this is just an example..
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