The fact that, say, the owner of an automobile dealership buys a car from himself does not make him merely a motorise; similarly, the face that a mafioso involved in drug or secondhand car dealing "buys" his own protection does not make him merely a dealer in drugs or used cars. This has been perhaps the most regrettable of several confusions inhibiting a proper understanding of the mafia, as it has systematically conflated the market of the good being protected with the market of protection itself (see, for example, Arlacchi 1983a). As each is subject to sharply differing constraints and opportunities, any successful analysis must preserve a clear distinction between protected commodities and protection as a commodity.

DEFINE: Defines protection as a separate commodity in its own right, distinct from the goods it protects.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 47