The street casino : survival in violent street gangs /
Simon Harding
- Bristol : Policy Press, 2014.
- xx, 327p. illustrations, maps ; 24cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
This work offers a new theoretical perspective on how young people survive the violent street gangs of south London. Using the principles of social field analysis and habitus from Pierre Bourdieu, Harding establishes the gang as a social arena of competition where actors struggle for distinction and survival. Establishing the metaphor of a Casino in which young people strive to become Players in The Game, Harding proposes that success is determined by accruing and retaining playing chips – street capital. This tradable, but highly variable, asset determines one’s position in The Game and the actions Players take as they seek to increase their position in the hierarchy and gain more chips. To gain chips Players strategise using tested techniques from different menus of strategic action. Grouped into Gang Repertoires, these menus operate to dictate the norms and help manage the social order of the field. However The Game is controlled by incumbents who strive to maintain their privileged position. Younger people, new arrivals, immigrants and women are all disadvantaged in this game but they can rise to become challengers to the status quo. This dynamic ensures the Game is one of constant flux, of jostling for position, reputation, status and distinction. This comprehensive theory generates numerous valuable insights into the social field of the gang which Harding identifies as highly violent, gendered, whilst increasingly embedded and constantly evolving. The street gang is a violent world where increasingly fatalistic young people are hyper-vigilant of risk: a Street Casino of winners and losers.
English.
9781447317173
Gangs England Gangs--Social aspects. Violence England--London.