Don Corleone as Libertarian?This post tries to bring to light some of the libertarian leanings of Don Corleone in the book The Godfather. When reading the post - two things remained in the forefront of my mind.
1. I was thinking of John Hancock and how he was both perhaps the richest man in the Massachusetts colony and also a smuggler (it is said that Sam Adams wrote the pamphlets but John Hancock paid the postage on the early documents that sparked the revolutionary spirit in New England). When the British taxes were thought to be unreasonable such as the Townshend Acts and a detriment to normal business - Hancock didn't hesitate to circumvent the laws and duties and smuggle his goods. There is the very famous case of his smugglers' ship Liberty being seized by the British in 1768 and of Hancock being defended in court by John Adams (which I guess makes John Adams Hancock's Tom Hagen). The point that Don Corleone was also a legitimate business man who had to circumvent the law when the current laws and power structure proved to be a detriment to his business is a valid one. I mean John Hancock was perhaps the original libertarian in this country - so seeing Vito Corleone as just following in is footsteps is an easy connection to make.
However, this brings me to the second thing that was floating around my brain when I read the post.
2. I remember reading an article on Adam Duritz the lead singer of the band Counting Crows. In the article Duritz recalls some fan approaching him about the meaning of the band's song
Mr Jones. The fan was convinced that the
lyrics meant that Mr. Jones was actually Duritz dick. Adam Duritz used the story to point out how people read into the lyrics whatever they want to see. Reading
The Godfather and seeing Don Corleone as a libertarian also seems to be reading into the lyrics to see whatever the reader wants to see.
One final thought on
The Godfather as libertarian post. Near the end there was this paragraph:
Most readers would perhaps deny that this is the central theme of The Godfather, pointing instead to the story of the moral corruption of Michael Corleone, who gradually becomes enmeshed in his family's criminal enterprises. Michael's fall from grace is indeed the main focus of the book. But it is worth noting that that fall was itself the result of an attack on the Corleone family by rival Mafia cliques seeking to control the emerging market in illegal drugs. The dispute between the Corleone's and their rivals cannot be settled peacefully in large part because the market in question is an illegal one.
I think one of the most overlooked themes of the book is the failure of Kaye as wife and mother. If Appolonia (Michael's first wife) had lived - do you think Michael would have had so many family problems? Do you think Appolonia would have ever had an abortion? Divorced Michael? I don't think so. Maybe the real lesson to be learned from the Godfather trilogy is to not marry a WASP. Michael's fall from grace or Michael marrying the wrong woman - you decide. Of course maybe I'm just reading into the book something I want to see.
