As a man fresh off the boat, I'd say we're totally independent. We can't be killed, we can't be robbed, and whatever we do in our first days here can be done entirely independently of others. In exchange for that liberty we can't attack or rob others, but at least that's a limit imposed on us as civilians, rather than any restrictions placed on us by a mob boss or godfather.

When we join a crew, things change. We become a workhorse for a criminal organization, and our independence is virtually eliminated. Sure, we can speak out in the Streets, but our career is so fragile that few really step out and make themselves known during this time out of fear that they'd piss someone off. As an associate, we are under the thumbs of our sponsors, crewleaders, and godfathers, and it seems like everything we do is orchestrated by our bosses. Our time is exchanged for money, and our money goes to our bosses.

Then we get Made. I'd argue that ordinarily there isn't any overt change in our agreement with the boss, but we're afforded some small piece of autonomy. Made Men can organize their own crimes, speak with the gravitas of being one of their crewleader's trusted men, and contemplate the thought of purchasing their own HQ. Clearly, we are still never to disobey our leader, but you've acquired a certain value in the crew that perhaps you can use to influence the crewleader instead of simply being a "yes" man and following orders.

The remainder of this speech will have to be done in theory, as I'm quite unaware of the actual autonomy of the crews, districts, and godfathers in existence.

Through our efforts and the wishes of our superiors, we are granted the authority to purchase an HQ. Our name is put in bold, and suddenly people start calling you "boss," instead of your old crewleader. Have we reached autonomy? Well, we're still under a godfather, so we can't be totally autonomous. But we have our own crew, just like the Godfather but without the rank, so there is some element of independence there (as we can now set taxes, organize our men, and train our own men as we please). But are we severed from obedience to our old boss, now that we have people in our own HQ to protect?

Let's say, through sheer willpower and good fortune, we acquire the rank of Godfather. Have we truly reached autonomy? If there are other godfathers in the city before you, can they not claim superiority over you?

My questions are: how autonomous are we (at any given stage in our career), and how autonomous should we be?

Good morning Solon, I get your point but I can honestly say that I am very far from being autonomous and I would say there are a fair few people in our community that would agree with me and this is from a thug right up until Godfather.

At no point before I became Made was I told not to come to the streets and voice my opinion in face I would say it has been the opposite. I think as long as you are respectful you can come out and question leaders and Godfather's alike, you may not get a response at times but there are no rules stating don't do it. Yes we have rules but they are rules that are ingrained in us we know what is wrong and right and we get on with it. The same as civilians they don't know every rule but they have a grasp of right and wrong.

We can decide on whether or not to kick any money up to our bosses it is our choice we are far from autonomous, well I am anyway. In terms of being a yes man that is down to you if my leader asked my opinion on something and gave me an order I would tell him what I think don't get me wrong would always carry the order out but I certainly will question things if I feel the needed questioning. 

I apologize if it seemed like I was trying to prove a point. What I meant to provide, instead, was a question; a question of autonomy. While you answered my first question thoroughly, I fear you have neglected the second. You consider yourself "far" from autonomy, and seem to couple it with some inherent understanding of right and wrong (suggesting that we, by nature, require someone to be sovereign over us [a scary thought]). But I don't think everyone is that way.

I think, if any can go back to the archives of the May War last year, you'd find that after the carnage and destruction we had no one to lead us. There were few crewleaders, and in the absence of that guiding light we seemed to fall apart. So, perhaps your suggestion is right Spunky: most of us can't survive without someone ruling over us.

Well when a person reaches the title of Godfather, it means that they are the boss of the district their family is situated in and any crew in that district answers to them. Now whether a certain Godfather answers to another Godfather depends on how the city Godfathers have decided to lead the city. They may lead with equal power or choose a Capo dei Capi.