what the difference between a mob(mafia? and a cartel?

Answer 1

Well, I think there are differences. The traditional definition is that a Cartel is an organization which is a combination of several independent groups which consolidate to raise profits and limit risks through the establishment of a monopoly. While Mob is a secret criminal organization operating in the several coutries and engaged in illegal activities such as gambling, drug-dealing, and prostitution.

Answer 2

Both are illegal. A mafia or mob is just a popular term for an organized crime group whereas a cartel is a group of producers or suppliers that acts as a bloc to distort markets. Contrary to what some others have said here, a cartel is illegal because of the collusion that takes place. In underdeveloped countries cartels may not be illegal but in developed countries they are. Cartels are not unlike monopolies only where a monopoly usually only involves one large company that is able to manipulate the market vis a vis its market share, a cartel is a collection of companies or firms that attempt the same thing.

There are examples of legal cartels but they mainly reside in the international realm. Examples are the diamond and oil industries. International syndicates are usually used to regulate prices and output for resources where this is favourable to ensure a stable market. For the most part, domestically, cartels are illegal.

Answer 3

Mob is an act of the people against the government as a protest action or the intimidation of constitutional authorities.

Mafia is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. An offshoot emerged on the East Coast of the United States and in Australia during the late 19th century following waves of Sicilian and Southern Italian emigration. In America, the Mafia often refers to Italian American organized crime in general, rather than just traditional Sicilian American organized crime. According to historian Paolo Pezzino: "The Mafia is a kind of organized crime being active not only in several illegal fields, but also tending to exercise sovereignty functions – normally belonging to public authorities – over a specific territory

Cartel is a group of formally independent producers whose goal is to increase their collective profits by means of price fixing, limiting supply, or other restrictive practices. Cartels typically control selling prices, but some are organized to control the prices of purchased inputs. Antitrust laws forbid cartels; however, they continue to exist nationally and internationally, openly and secretly, formally and informally. Note that a single entity that holds a monopoly by this definition cannot be a cartel, though it may be guilty of abusing said monopoly in other ways. Cartels usually occur in oligopolies, where there are a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products. Bid rigging is a special type of cartel.

Answer 4

IMHO, this is basically a semantic difference. We use the word mob to describe a microeconomic (local or single enterprise) attempt to illegally manipulate a marketplace. Examples would be the local mafia families in loan-sharking, union corruption, waste disposal, etc.

Cartels are basically macroeconomic (worldwide or industry-wide) attempt to manipulate a market using illegal tactics. Examples would be OPEC, Columbian/South American drug cartels, and the People's Army of Red China industrial espionnage program.

Answer 5

It doesn't matter. If they're not in the country legally, with the paperwork to prove it, they all deserve to get shipped back to Mexico. Let the Mexicans deal with their own drug and poverty problems for a change instead of shoving it all onto the innocent citizens of Arizona and the USA.

Answer 6

The difference is in the eyes of the beholder - it is mostly semantics and perspective. Your question seems to be oriented to the criminal definition, and yes, both names are associated with criminal organizations/enterprises. However, "mob" has American connotations, and "cartel" has Mexican/Central American/South American connotations (you also mention mafia, which, as a stand alone, is often associated with Italian organized crime).

Answer 7

A mob has it's activities rooted in illegal practices by law.

A cartel has its activities rooted in legal practices by law. It may be immoral but it is legal.

Answer 8

Same titles but different spellings. And they do the same job what ever that is.