Street Performers and the Social Contract; R. Zimmerman

Joe "Joey-Joey" Colone once worked for a cir cus. He is a skilled juggler, sword swallower, and unicyclist (sometimes all at once!). Each day dur ing good weather he can be found performing in New York City'sWashington Square Park. As with Mr. Owens, he requires nothing from his audience but that they laugh at his comedy and gasp at his stunts. Yet, before he finishes a performance, he can easily collect over $200,given eagerly by peo ple appreciative of his skills. Both these men are part of a wonderfully tal ented subculture of street performers that exists in every major city throughout the world. They work for no one but themselves, require no one to pay them, and yet earn a good and productive livelihood. Street performing has its drawbacks, however. Because street performers are considered outside "normal" society,they enjoy few legal protections and often are harassed. In addition, there are no official laws or rules to enforce good behavior from within or without.

Mr. Zimmerman is a feature film producer in New York City. Harassment is the main problem. All street per formers fear the police, who often not only prevent them from earning a living but can seriously harm them as well. "My only review in The New York Times came about because I was arrested for attracting too large a crowd," says Owens. The police handcuffed him, confiscated his equipment, and jailed him overnight. "I try to tread lightly where the police are con cerned," says Victor McSurley, a music composer who plays his new-age music daily in Washington Square Park. "Often the police will ask me to move on, for no reason but they've had a bad day." Being considered outside the law causes other problems. The performers, having no recourse or protection, can be harassed by hecklers, the home less, and the disreputable characters who thrive on the vulnerable. The homeless and insane often interfere with performances, and can even pose a physicalthreat. All the performers can do is use this harassment as a tool for improving their repertoire.

Thugs and extortionists are another problem. Following one of Joey-Joey's performances, a man came up and demanded "his share" of the earnings. Without this share, the man threat ened to break up Joey's next performance. Joey shrugged and ignored the threats. "This happens all the time. I can easily handle him in front of a crowd of 500." And calling the police over did not help. The officer shrugged as well. "I don't see anything happening. Call me when something happens." Being outside the law also means there are no established rules of behavior for the street perJoey-Joey sings for the crowd. formers themselves. At the center of Washington Square Park is an unused fountain. "It's a natural amphitheater, one of the best places in the world to perform," says William "Master" Lee, kung fu comedian and juggler.Around its circle are several steps, allowing people to sit and watch. It is possi ble for almost a thousand people to enjoy a perfor mance.

Competition for access to this space became intense in the 1980s.The number of talented per formers had grown so large that they began to trip over each other. "You'd be working the foun tain, and another performer would set up right next to you, and steal your audience. That could get pretty ugly," says William Lee. "They go too long," says Albert Owens. "I want to get out there and perform." However, unlike their problems with the police and hecklers, this was a situation the performers could do something about. They didn't hold protest demonstrations; they didn't demand gov ernment action and laws; nor did they use force among themselves to solve the problem. Instead, they talked to each other and worked the problem out among themselves. They now wait their turn for access to the fountain, and introduce the performer who follows them. New 199 performers are allowed time and space to per form, though not during the prime slots. If they are good, however, they will earn the right to the best slots. As William Lee says: "If you're a good performer and can attract and hold a crowd, we can't stop you from performing. All we do is accommodateeachother."

Common respect for their dignity as human beings led them to establish reasonable rules that all could agree with. No government agency did this. Nor are these rules enforced by law. The per formers did it themselves to improve their working conditions without submitting to control from an outside source. A "SocialContract"? A finer, more obvious demonstration of John Locke's concept of the "social contract" cannot be found. Meanwhile, the homeless, the thugs, and the police harass and interfere with these free souls, refusing to allow them to make their way peace ably in a difficult world. It is as if certain parts of society have decided that the social contract does not have to include everyone for it to be just. Locke said that when legislators deny the peo ple their share of the socialcontract, and" ... either by ambition, fear, folly or corruption, endeavor to grasp themselves, or put into the hands of any oth er an absolute power over the lives, liberties, and estates of the people; by this breach of trust they forfeit the power, the people had put into their hands, ... " (The Second Treatiseof Government, paragraph 222) While it is unfortunate that there are those who act to harm the social contract, either because they are incapable of participating in it (the homeless and the insane), or because they are willing to destroy it (the violent and the criminal), no social order is perfect, and such individuals exist in all societies.

It is the function of the social order to prevent these souls from harming others. In New York City,however, society no longer does this. Instead, represented by the police, government no longer applies the social contract equally to all citizens, and even allowssome citizens to wield power arbi trarily over others. This indicates a breaking down of the social contract and, as Locke describes, the eventual failure of all government. 0 200 Two Kinds of Influence by Leonard E. Read M ost persons have some notion of their dependence on others. Most of us real ize that we cannot by ourselves build the houses in which we live, raise the foods we eat, make the cars we drive, create the opportu nities constantly presented to us, originate the knowledge and ideas by which we live, garner the fuel we burn, fabricate the clothes we wear, con struct the telephones over which we talk-in deed, few among us could in a thousand years produce what we consume in a single day!