Can society learn anything from Burning Man?

Nadia Woodhouse
Aug 25, 2017 · 5 min read

This week, tens of thousands will descend upon a dry lakebed in the middle of Nevada. Within days it will become the world’s largest temporary city, with 70,000 ‘burners’ bringing in construction materials, yurts and tents, art cars and sound systems, condoms and costumes, drugs and dust masks, bicycles and sustenance — and then, when it’s done, carrying it all back out again.

The long line up into Black Rock City. Image: Mark Watson of Highlux Photo [and camp mate at Camp Discordia]

Conceived with utopian ideals when a few friends from San Francisco burnt a wooden statue 31 years ago, it’s long been touted as losing its charm — which might have something to do with the fact that Black Rock City has the highest concentration of billionaires in any one place. Every year Silicon Valley stalwarts erect impressive (unbranded) theme camps; Elon Musk has been known to test prototypes of the Tesla out in deep playa; last year, unaware, I walked past Paris Hilton. Based on my experience, the majority of people at Black Rock City are in the 1%.

But there’s another side to Burning Man, the utopian ideals that have withstood not only the test of time, but an influx of billionaires; fancy costumes and plug and play RV camps. It’s these foundational principles that above all else, remarkably, prevail. Ten simple principles guide the community through a week in the desert — a place prone to extreme temperatures, dust storms, blistering sun. As I immersed myself in Burning Man last year — I realised these principles are rooted in the concept of what is to be human. It got me thinking, could we bring this back into what the burners call the ‘default world’ — our everyday life? Decide for yourself:

Principle 2. ‘Gifting: Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.’

This is the most well-known premise of Burning Man. A marketplace freed from Keynesian ideology, there is no currency, exchanging or bartering. People simply give without expectation of reciprocity. While Adam Smith would turn in his grave and the global economy may indeed relinquish its vestiges of order if widespread adoption occurred tomorrow, could this be something that we embrace at a personal and community level?

Black Rock City. Image: Mark Watson of Highlux Photo

Principle 3. ‘Decommodification: In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising.’

Without the clutter of advertising, we might free ourselves of outside influences and start to make decisions truly for ourselves. I learnt to look up to the sky, outward to the mountains, and right in front of me to witness incredible art and creative expression.

The Space Whale, Burning Man, Black Rock City. Image: Mark Watson of Highlux Photo

Principle 8. ‘Leaving No Trace: Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather.’

At Burning Man I saw people carry around small mint tins to ash their cigarettes, every butt was carefully stubbed out and put back into a pocket. When we packed up camp, I scoured the dry lakebed floor for every remaining grain of uncle ben’s rice, every broom bristle. I picked these up and carried them out of Black Rock City with me, along with (many) dirty baby wipes and my grey water.

Pack down at Camp Discordia, Black Rock City. Image: Mark Watson of Highlux Photo

Principle 1. ‘Radical Inclusion: Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.’

What would our institutions and workplaces look like if we openly welcomed and encouraged diversity — without unconscious bias — diversity in gender, sexual preference, upbringing, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, age, skillsets?

Mayan Warrior, Deep Playa, Black Rock City. Image: Mark Watson of Highlux Photo

Principle 5. ‘Radical self-expression: No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others.’

It is this principle that is the most heart-warming to me. At Burning Man I saw many people daring to truly be themselves. When I started to judge or opine, it felt naturally wrong for me to do so. And it gave me the space and freedom to be the fullest expression of myself. In life, at home, at work — don’t we deserve to truly be ourselves?

Burning Man, Black Rock City. Image: Mark Watson of Highlux Photo

See all ten principles here.

Along with people from all over the world descending on the dust, this year, the Standing Rock leaders representing the Great Sioux Nations will also gather on the playa — a Global Drum Prayer calling for social justice and protection of the environment will be broadcast live.

Burning Man: It’s not a music festival, an art festival, or even a cultural festival. It’s a place to explore the art of the possible, to make deep human connection without judgement or preconception. Even if we were in the 1%, it didn’t get us into the VIP area. There is no VIP area at Burning Man.

No matter your stance on natural or synthetic drugs, on free love, on public nudity; there’s no denying that Burning Man is an epicentre for creativity, self-expression and above all — respect. At a time in history where a world leader fails to condemn racism and bigotry in Charlottesville; where gender bias is still in entrenched in many of our most powerful corporations and where we continue to breach planetary boundaries in search of our own self-interest — Burning Man might offer a glimpse of an alternate possible.

Challenging the concept of permanence — Pyramid Burn, Black Rock City. Image: Mark Watson of Highlux Photo

See more of Mark’s incredible photos here: Highlux Photo

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