--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Capone gang was actually a public…" description: "\"The Capone gang was actually a public utility; it supplied what the people wanted and demanded.\" — Saul Alinsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/saul-alinsky-3048_actually_the-capone-gang-was-actually-a-public-ut_2935981.png" --- # The Capone gang was actually a public utility; it supplied… ![“The Capone gang was actually a public utility; it supplied what the people wanted and demanded.” quote by Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/saul-alinsky-3048_actually_the-capone-gang-was-actually-a-public-ut_2935981.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/saul-alinsky-3048_actually_the-capone-gang-was-actually-a-public-ut_2935981.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f97/saul-alinsky-3048_actually_the-capone-gang-was-actually-a-public-ut_2935981.png) > “The Capone gang was actually a public utility; it supplied what the people wanted and demanded.” [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Capone gang functioned like a utility, delivering what society demanded despite its criminal nature. **In simple terms:** Criminal groups can act like services when society wants them. Key Takeaway Recognize how demand shapes supply, even illicit. Themes crime economics public demand societal responsibility power dynamics Mood critical analytical Type sociological political When to use this quote - law enforcement - community activism - policy making - business ethics Key Concepts market dynamics social contract political economy Questions to Reflect On - What societal needs are unmet by legitimate institutions? - How can we redirect demand toward ethical solutions? A Different Perspective Illicit enterprises thrive when legal systems fail to meet needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually/) [Capone Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capone-gang-4351847/) [Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gang/) [Gang Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gang-actually-4351848/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-wanted/) [Public Utility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-utility-1568084/) [Supplied People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supplied-people-4351849/) [Utility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utility/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) ## Related quotes > [What was a profitable business in one era can become a public utility and a recognized public good in the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-yang/what-was-a-profitable-business-in-one-era-can-become-a-public-utility/) [Andrew Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-yang/) > [We need to make power a public utility to end man-made energy disasters and ensure that no family ever has to choose between keeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaal-bowman/we-need-to-make-power-a-public-utility-to-end-man-made-energy/) [Jamaal Bowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaal-bowman/) > [Lawyers as a group are no more dedicated to justice or public service than a private public utility is dedicated to giving light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-melinkoff/lawyers-as-a-group-are-no-more-dedicated-to-justice-or-public-service/) [David Melinkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-melinkoff/) > [“100 Years Is Enough: Time to Make the Fed a Public Utility”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/100-years-is-enough-time-to-make-the-fed-a-public-utility/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [Then you had people who wanted to get into comedy just to get a TV deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-sykes/then-you-had-people-who-wanted-to-get-into-comedy-just-to-get-a-tv/) [Wanda Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-sykes/) > [~ People wanted to believe each other, but they are afraid to trust each other. ~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince/people-wanted-to-believe-each-other-but-they-are-afraid-to-trust-each/) [Vince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince/) > [But lies were what people wanted; that was politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/but-lies-were-what-people-wanted-that-was-politics/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [Some people wanted champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/some-people-wanted-champagne-and-caviar-when-they-should-have-had/) [Dwight D. 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But I'm no villain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-whitehead/people-wanted-me-to-be-like-the-madonna-the-white-nun-you-know-and/) [Mary Beth Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-whitehead/) > [“You wanted more from people sometimes. And sometimes,you wanted more from yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/you-wanted-more-from-people-sometimes-and-sometimes-you-wanted-more/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [I think people wanted to see some specificity in faith on TV.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-seltzer/i-think-people-wanted-to-see-some-specificity-in-faith-on-tv/) [David Seltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-seltzer/) > [The only people who ever called me a rebel were people who wanted me to do what they wanted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/the-only-people-who-ever-called-me-a-rebel-were-people-who-wanted-me/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) ## More by Saul Alinsky > [The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-threat-is-usually-more-terrifying-than-the-thing-itself/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [I've never joined any organization - not even the ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/i-ve-never-joined-any-organization-not-even-the-ones-i-ve-organized/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Everybody owned stock in the Capone mob; in a way, he was a public benefactor. I remember one time when he arrived at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/everybody-owned-stock-in-the-capone-mob-in-a-way-he-was-a-public/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [First rule of change is controversy. You can't get away from it for the simple reason all issues are controversial. Change means movement, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/first-rule-of-change-is-controversy-you-can-t-get-away-from-it-for/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Radicals, on the other hand, want to advance from the jungle of laissez-faire capitalism to a world worthy of the name of human civilization.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/radicals-on-the-other-hand-want-to-advance-from-the-jungle-of-laissez/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. 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It is always present in the pragmatics of operation... If you start with nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/to-the-organizer-compromise-is-a-key-and-beautiful-word-it-is-always/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy-thinks-you-have/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-standards-of-judgment-must-be-rooted-in-the-whys-and-wherefores/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Organized business has assumed that greater profits would be pretty much of a cure-all, and it has to a major extent ignored the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/organized-business-has-assumed-that-greater-profits-would-be-pretty/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-acts-decisively-only-in-the-conviction-that-all-the-angels-are-on/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) [Explore all 141 Saul Alinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## More Actually quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [I actually do sing sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morten-harket/i-actually-do-sing-sometimes/) [Morten Harket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morten-harket/) > [I've actually got quite a good memory. I've good recall. 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