Minderbinder's enterprise becomes known as "M&M Enterprises", with the two M's standing for his initials and the "&" added to dispel any idea that the enterprise is a one-man operation. Minderbinder travels across the world, especially around the Mediterranean Sea, trying to buy and sell goods at a profit, primarily through black market channels. Everyone has a "share", a fact which Minderbinder uses to defend his actions, stating that what is good for the company is good for all. For example, he secretly replaces the CO2 cartridges in the emergency life vests with printed notes to the effect that what is good for M&M is good for the country.

Eventually, Minderbinder begins contracting missions for the Germans, fighting on both sides in the battle at Orvieto, and bombing his own squadron at Pianosa. At one point Minderbinder orders his fleet of aircraft to attack the American base where he lives, killing many American officers and enlisted men. He finally gets court-martialed for treason. However, as M&M Enterprises proves to be incredibly profitable, he hires an expensive lawyer who is able to convince the court that it was capitalism which made America great, and is absolved only by disclosing his enormous profit to the investigating congressional committee.

In typical Catch-22 satirical fashion, Minderbinder's business is incredibly profitable, with the single exception of his decision to buy all Egyptian cotton in existence, which he cannot unload afterwards (except to other entrepreneurs, who sell the cotton back to him, because he simply ordered all Egyptian cotton) and tries to dispose of by coating it with chocolate and serving it in the mess hall. Later, Yossarian gives Minderbinder the idea of selling the cotton to the government, quoting Calvin Coolidge's assertion that "the business of government is 'business'."

The exact size of Minderbinder's syndicate is never specified. At the beginning of the novel, it is merely a system that gets fresh eggs to his mess hall by buying them in Sicily for one cent, selling them to Malta for four and a half cents, buying them back for seven cents, and finally selling them to the mess halls for five cents. However, the syndicate is soon revealed to have become a large company, and then an international syndicate, making Minderbinder the Mayor of Palermo, Assistant Governor-General of Malta, Shah of Oran, Caliph of Baghdad, mayor of Cairo, and the god of corn, rain, and rice in various pagan African countries. Whenever Minderbinder appears in one of his cities, an impromptu holiday with parades forming around him is declared.

Brian, what did you say about having neither the right nor ability to criticise the Muselman?

FD said that about the bin Laden family.

Frank wrote on Aug 11^th, 2021 at 5:03pm:


Nonsense. We're a University of Life, a Madrassah if you will.

We're all esteemed students here, dear boy.

As the Saudis like to say, Allah Uakbar, no?

Mr Hammer wrote on Aug 11^th, 2021 at 5:54pm:

No, no, no. Yossarian JUMMPED!!! Orr is in Sweden!! He made it!!!




Heller was a great writer and Mike Nichols was an equal to him as a director. Heller's book on Aristotle and Rembrandt is a treasure. Something Happened is also a brilliant.

Grappler Truth Teller Feller wrote on Aug 12^th, 2021 at 2:22am:


No, that's ISIS, dear. FD's excusing the Saudis for 9/11.

That's all. You?

freediver wrote on Aug 13^th, 2021 at 12:51pm:


What's the matter, FD? Cat got your tongue?

What was it Brian said again?

Frank wrote on Aug 16^th, 2021 at 4:54pm:


Good show, dear boy, but I'm curious. FD would prefer to play no-speaka-da-English, but he grew here, the silly thing, he can lie all he wants.

You flew here. You have your citizenship test to think about. Do you, old boy, excuse the bin Ladens for 9/11 too?

A simple yes or no will suffice.