I thought that the most interestig part of Snow Crash was Stephenson's ideas about what would take the place of government in a lawless society. The Mafia is the most obvious example of this. An organization that has always had to hide to some extent in our society is right out in the open in this futuristic America, and what is more, it seems to be one of the most enlightened ruling groups around. For example, when Jason mistakenly hand-delivers his package to Uncle Enzo, the contrast between the Mafia-controlled block and the ones held by Narcolombians are emphasized. On the Mafia block, "Old ladies are walking the streets again. Children are waiting for schoolbuses and playing hopscotch on sidewalks that recently were stained with blood." (144) In contrast, when Jason is driving through the Narcolombian neighborhoods of Compton, he is constantly being shot at. Essentially, the Mafia has become a symbol of order, rather than one of lawlessness.
The development of the Mafia in this way is actually fairly reasonable when one looks at the values that seem to have come to be respected in this new America. The story of the nearly late pizza early on in the book is a good example. Hiro feels completely justified taking absurd, impossible risks - to deliver a pizza on time. Of course, what is at stake is not the price of the pizza, but credibility. In a world with little or no legal accountability, the importance of personal accountability is magnified. A delivery company that promises to deliver in 30 minutes has to hold itself accountable, because the customers know that there is no one else with the power to do so. Paradoxically, because reneging on a contract has few legal ramifications, it becomes unthinkable.
This idea of personal or organizational as oppose to social responsibility and loyalty shows up in other places as well. For example, when Y.T. is caught by the MetaCops, she calls her boyfriend Roadkill for help: "'you're my boyfriend,' she says, speaking very simply and plainly. 'If I get popped, you're supposed to come around and help bust me out.' Isn't everyone supposed to know this stuff? Don't parents teach their kids anything anymore?" (78) To Y.T., it is completely obvious that part of being a boyfriend is helping get one's girlfriend away form the cops. It doesn't seem like she's even really making a request here. She's not saying, "please help me." Instead, she's pointing out Roadkill's personal responsiblity to her, a responsibility that she sees as binding. Again, personal responsiblity seems to take the role that leal or social responsiblity takes in our culture.