Originally Posted By: olivant
...Vito would have eventually exercised his huge intelligence to recognize that he really had to participate to at least some extent in the drug trade...


Operative word: eventually .

Yes, he might very well have eventually recognized this.

But, if Tom's persuasive argument pre-Solozzo meeting did not persuade him, then a failed attempt on his very life would not have prompted him to simply think "Oh, gee...I guess they're really serious!", lie down & make the deal.

He would've gone to war.

Apple

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.

- THOMAS JEFFERSON