OMERTÀ AS A WORLDVIEW PHENOMENON OF THE ITALIAN MAFIA

Abstract

The article is devoted to the philosophical inquiry of mafia worldview system the base of which is omertà – the code of honor of the Italian mafia which is based on the code of silence deeply rooted in southern Italy and Corsica, the refusal to cooperate with the authorities and non-interference in other people’s legal affairs. The methodological mistakes connected with trying to analyze mafia worldview in comparison with the scale of values of democratic society have been shown. It has been stressed that omertà is not only a system of keeping silence but also a system of specific ways of communication inside of the mafia community. The forms of manipulation of the consciousness of the personality have been revealed depending on the characteristics of political regimes (democratic, authoritarian, totalitarian forms of the social mechanism of manipulation of the personality consciousness). It has been concluded that mafia as worldview system and type of social organization is an alternative form of social integration. It has deep historical and cultural roots which are connected with absence of stable national state governance in the South of Italy during ages; with deep distrust of the official state; with irrational desire to reproduce the “real power” in another form based on the family values and kinship. Key words: Worldview, Personality, Community, State, Values.