A "good" Don

In another thread Immobiliare brought up a variation of an old question:


Can there be something like a "good" Mafia Don?
To me, this question about a good Don is kind of absurd: After all we're talking about the head of an organisation that earns money by killing people. It's like asking "What makes a good dictator?"
Marlon Brando's strength was to show a complex character: A man who used his capabilities in a corrupt society who was still a good father and a loyal employer.
That doesn't change the fact that he was running a murder organisation. In "The Godfather" we see no street violence (apart from Sonny beating up Carlo), we don't see the killing of the labour union guy, we don't see how they blackmail shopkeepers. We don't really see how the Corleones make their money. We only see violence from the Corleone side when it comes to revenge which always shown as rightful.
Thus, a good Don is someone who organizes crime business smoothly.

I should have made it clear that I didn't mean 'good' from a moral standpoint or anything like that. I meant 'good' as in 'effective'.

In other words, would Tom have been able to take the Corleone family forward? Could he have protected the family from those trying to challenge thier power? Could he have made the family's business as successful as Micheal made it? Could he have turned the family legitimate? Would he have been able to keep his family loyal?

Also, I think in some ways this thread can relate to the other 'whos being naive Kay...' thread.

Essentially , taking a moral standpoint, you cannot be a 'good' don in the same way you cannot be a 'good' businessman, senator, or Prime minister/President. To get into these positions of power it is almost guaranteed that you will have to comprimise some ethics along the way...

I don't think it's accurate to say a Mafia family "earns money by killing people." That's what a hitman does. A Mafia family certainly uses violence (including deadly force) for various reasons, and often (though not always) those are financially related. But I don't think killing itself is a major way the organization as a whole makes money. Extortion, racketeering, prostitution, gambling etc. are, and violence is often used in these areas.

On the question of "goodness," obviously nobody becomes a Mafia don (or a dictator) by being some sort of candidate for sainthood. In forming one's opinion of a particular individual in the mob, or a particular dictator, one has to take this into account from the outset. Some mobsters, like "Gaspipe" Casso and Nicky Scarfo, were way more brutal than a person has to be even if they're a Mafia leader. Vito Corleone, on the other hand, seems to have been about as good and kind a person as one could be without ceasing to be a viable Mafia don. He does seem like a good guy within the context of the mob, although not by the standards of the larger society. He's clearly not a villain in the context of the Godfather book and movies.

Given that one does not rise to the level of Don by being ineffective, a Don is effective in many areas, but maybe not all. As I opined in another thread, Tom's effectiveness would have manifested itself in keeping the organization running efficiently. I don't see Tom as a greedy or vengeful person who would use his position to exact unusual tribute from his minions or to eliminate perceived family competition a la Scarfo. Tom was imbued with Vito's principles and would have run his family accordingly.