ABSTRACT
The American dream continues to stress the availability of power, income, and wealth to anyone prepared to commit himself wholeheartedly to its achievement. The most visible and most publicised divisions in American society lie less in social class than in race, ethnicity, language, sex and urban versus rural location. Social class has always been a highly visible fact of British life reflected in the differences in language, education, job opportunity, leisure and home life. The education system in the United States—in theory at least— offers equal opportunity to all class levels. Education is seen in the United States as an important entrance to upper income brackets and heightened social standing. In the United States, gangs in New York show signs of uniting across the barriers of race and turf. The 1950's street gangs were tightly organised units who attempted to salvage dignity in the symbolic defense of "turf" and demonstration of "heart".
