Freakonomics interviewed Sudhir Venkatesh, a professor of sociology at Columbia University about his research into street gang life. He has a book coming out in 2008, called Gang Leader for a Day.
Q: How do gang members see themselves as fitting in with society at large? Do gang members have a real comprehension that the things they do – dealing drugs, engaging in violence, destroying property, scaring people – are widely perceived as not only illegal but also morally wrong?A: Many gang members who attain leadership status are deeply conscious of their perception by wider society. They tend to make two arguments when discussing their behavior: first, that whites also work in the underground economy but are not prosecuted (or stigmatized) to the same degree (just look at the differential rates of punishment for powder cocaine and crack cocaine – the former is distributed by whites to a far greater degree); and second, that corporations also engage in criminal activity, but are rarely viewed as outlaws – not just Enron, but oil and other companies that have established histories of supporting anti-democratic regimes in developing counties to secure their own profits.
