Through this fictional account, by which Tocqueville manages to convey his reflections on the journey, we begin to grasp some of the elements of the peculiar process of adjustment to — rather than rebellion against — domination which to different degrees involves both Naples and Sicily: the absenteeism of an aristocracy lured by the pleasures and servility of the court; the predominance of private over public concerns, of duplicity, cunning, and favour over merit; and the fashion for crime and murder, which have become habitual and are even felt to be legitimate

XREF: Connects to theories of learned helplessness and accommodation in subjugated societies, as well as Gramsci's cultural hegemony.

Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking…, loc. 2121