Did Minneapolis’ city government shred the social contract?

Under our “social contract,” individuals voluntarily agree to surrender certain rights and freedoms to a governing authority in exchange for protection and the maintenance of social order, forming the basis of legitimate government and political obligation. But what happens when you surrender these rights and freedoms to a governing authority and it doesn’t give you protection and the maintenance of social order in return? What do you do when government fails to keep its end of the bargain?

Eight businesses in Minneapolis are exploring their options. These businesses, the Star Tribune reports:

…have sued the city of Minneapolis over its handling of the neighborhood where George Floyd was killed by police, alleging their businesses were damaged when police stopped responding to the area, and activists, gangs and crime took over.

The business owners say when the city blocked off a four-block area around 38th Street and Chicago Avenue to give people space to grieve in summer 2020, they allowed it to be overtaken by “civilian occupiers” to the point where it became a violent, lawless “no-go zone” that disrupted and, in some cases, ruined their businesses. They say the city’s actions amounted to condemnation of their property without compensation.

Four other local businesses sued the city on similar grounds in October.

That the city government gave up the area is not in dispute. As the Star Tribune puts it:

…a semiautonomous zone formed in a four-block area around the intersection: The city erected barriers blocking off the intersection, and they remained there for about a year before the intersection was reopened in June 2021. The barriers were manned by activists who controlled access to George Floyd Square.

It abandoned the people and businesses within this area, failing to provide the protection and maintenance of social order the social contract obliges them to provide.

…The latest lawsuit says business owners who operate near the intersection, in what’s now called George Floyd Square, have dealt with spiraling crime and violence since Floyd’s 2020 killing.

“The city’s decision to allow civilian occupiers to ‘guard’ the zone enhanced economic hardship on the surrounding businesses and caused deadly results, including the takeover of the intersection by gangs,” the lawsuit alleges. The Bloods gang is active in the George Floyd Square area, and at one point provided “security” in the neighborhood after police stepped back.

The lawsuit cites examples of the violence business owners have experienced or witnessed while trying to make a living.

About a year after Floyd’s police killing, a man was shot outside of a restaurant called Just Turkey and ran into the store, where owner Sam Willis helped the wounded man and was later confronted by two gunmen looking for the victim.

The owner of a consignment store, Christy Frank, is facing bankruptcy and says she was harassed and threatened by “vagrants” to the point where she hired security to escort her to her store.

The owner of Finish Touch Boutique, Willie Frazier, had his car stolen, store broken into, window and door repeatedly shot, saw one of his customers get robbed outside his store in broad daylight and dove to the ground along with two customers when gunfire erupted outside.

Ralph Williams, ownerof Ralph’s VIP Barber Lounge, was shot in 2021, and the bullet ripped through his thighs and a testicle, but police never responded when he called 911, so he had to drive himself to the hospital.

In March 2024, Edwin Reed, owner of Sincere Detailing Pros, saw a vehicle drive up in front of his store with a former customer in the passenger seat and his wife and children screaming in the car. He had a gunshot wound to his head; Reed tried to administer first aid and called 911, but he says it took police over 20 minutes to respond and the man died.

In another incident, Reed was with a customer when they had to take cover after hearing gunshots outside. Reed called 911 and was given the number for a gang task force officer, who told him Minneapolis police wouldn’t respond because it was a “no-go zone” and told Reed to gather bullet casings and bring them in.

Even in less philosophical terms, these business owners had paid their taxes in the expectation that the city would provide them protection in return. When it came to it, the city reneged on this. What would you do if you contracted and paid for a service that wasn’t then provided?

Last week I wrote about the “urban social contract.” Here I’m talking about the regular old social contract that you’ll often hear about. What is a government that fails — or chooses not — to uphold its end of the bargain owed to the people it claims to govern?