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New York Class Structure

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The structure of society comes in various shapes and forms. With the social structure must come groups or individuals the differentiate themselves from the rest. In the case of New York in the 1800s these groups and individuals were the rich and wealthy alongside the leader of the Confederation of Natives gang, Bill the Butcher. Bill rules the five points with an iron fist effectively using fear and violence to dominate the area in its entirety. While the rich and powerful rule uptown, Bill is the King of the Five points. He engages in criminal activity and deviant behaviour inspiring those around him to also engaged in said behaviours. Although there are many gangs within New York, it is obvious Bill and his companions our cloth-cut above. The criminals and gang members engage in these behaviours due to the impoverished state in which they live in. What separates them …show more content…

In land-based economies, class structures are based on the individual’s relationship to the ownership and control of land. Class can also refer to groups of individuals with a shared characteristic relevant in some socioeconomic measurements or ranking (for example, all individuals burning over $50,000 a year): It then has a statistical meaning rather than being defined by social relationships. While class is extensively used in discussing social structure, sociologist also rely on the concept of status, which offers a more complex portrait in which individuals within a class can be seen as having quite differentiated social situations” (Parkinson & Drislane, 2007,

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