Comment by martin-t
3 months ago
That's the second difference i mention. Organized crime is able to wield more violence than normal individuals so it has more power over them.
I perhaps mistakenly used the word "certain" to describe state violence. I tried to explain it in the parentheses but wasn't clear enough. Let me try to clear it up:
The state is (currently) unable to use the full extent of its violence against every person who breaks its rules. Hence why many people get away with large amounts of less visible crimes (even organized crime). It's only when the state targets you (such as when you perform one very visible / high-severity crime) that it's near impossible to escape it.
> Organized crime is able to wield more violence than normal individuals so it has more power over them
In very localised conditions, largely due to the state's neglect.
> only when the state targets you (such as when you perform one very visible / high-severity crime) that it's near impossible to escape it
This is the crux of power. Discretion.
> In very localised conditions, largely due to the state's neglect.
I didn't mean just materialized physical violence against a person's body. It is still violence when it's implied/threatened, when it's targeted at belongings / relatives / reputation, when it's through a third party, etc. and often a combination of these. For example promising to call the cops on someone checks 2 boxes (3 if it's something they haven't done).
> This is the crux of power. Discretion.
Discretion is how you avoid power being used against you, it is not how you exert power. Though in a hierarchical society (pretty much all of them) where you're not at the top, you might need to use discretion to avoid a greater power while exerting your power on someone with even less power.