Dewey, Santayana, and 'Ndrangheta: Understanding a Complex Phenomenon

‘Ndrangheta, the criminal association hailing from Calabria (southern Italy), is now considered to be the most influential Italian Mafia. Thanks to violence and intimidation, but also through the active cooperation of other social actors such enterpreneurs and politicans, ‘Ndrangheta has succeeded in infiltrating the wealthy northern regions of Italy by becoming a reliable partner over time in addressing problems and demands arising from the social situation in these areas. Based on existing historical (Ciconte 2011; Gratteri & Nicasio 2009) and sociological (Sciarrone 2009, 2014; Varese 2011) inquiries, this paper aims at tackling some issues concerning ‘Ndrangheta leaning on the thought of two important philosophers of the last century, John Dewey and George Santayana. Specifically, the approaches of these two heterogeneous authors will be employed in order to discuss two different aspects of the phenomenon of ‘Ndrangheta: the relationship between mafia activities and democratic common interest, and the enduring role played by violence and what Santayana would call “faction militancy”. By leaning on two such different authors, I will try to enlighten and discuss two different sides of the same multifaceted social phenomenon, which would be impossible to grasp simultaneously by adopting one single philosophical standpoint.