Marxism..

Marxist on Gangs
As Marxists we have to note that the material reality has a large effect on
the distance gangs usually travel down the political road. The Watts
uprising of 1965, for instance, united different gangs in their struggle
against police brutality which paved the way for a formation like the Black
Panthers which could recruit from different gangs and put aside petty
differences in favour of revolutionary struggle and unity. And the heyday
of the Black Panthers was the late 60s; no one on this list needs to be
reminded of the political climate during that time. Or more recently the
police killing of New York City resident and black man Sean Bell created a
climate where the Bloods and Crips (who are usually in a state of war with
each other) both marched together to protest police brutality in NYC.

Marxist on Gangs
As Marxists we can look at street gangs sociologically or politically.
Sociologically, Marxists favour a much more sympathetic view towards gangs
then the mainstream view, for the reasons Piercy stated. We acknowledge
that these groups are almost entirely composed of impoverished people and
are often targets of the blame game when capitalist politicians need a
scapegoat for the system and its results. As Mike Davis so brilliantly
noted in an interview he gave in the DVD 'Bastards of the Party,' if you had
39,000 union jobs in L.A. you could very well get 39,000 gang members to
leave the negative aspects of their gang lives behind. Gang leaders
pursuing reform often complain that without jobs they find it extremely
difficult to stop members from pursuing monetary gain through illicit
means.

Marxist Perspective
From the Marxist perspective, adolescent gangs are a collectivist subculture which forms as a reaction to an impoverished lifestyle and an environment lacking in intellectual stimulation, in order to share knowledge about criminalistic activities, and to share the proceeds generated from deviant behaviour.