First Principles

Burning Man is underway, and right now there are thousands of people partying in the desert and taking pictures of them and their friends with their own cameras of the event.  And despite their illusions of freedom, they don’t own a single one of those pictures.  Not really.

But the Government of Black Rock City has told the Burners who keep them employed that they don’t need to worry – their liberty is infringed for their own good, and they triple dog promise to never abuse this expansive authority over their denizens.  Really!

I’m sure the BM folks would bristle at the idea that they were a “government.”  But they set out to create a “community.”  They call their community a “City”.  That city has rules, which are created by the organizers of said city, and a violation of those rules can lead to various sanctions.  The denizens give money to the organizers, who then use that money to provide infrastructure (such as it is), utilities, and security – and to pay themselves.   What else do you call it?

It’s just that the Burners don’t get any say in who their government is.  Oh, and the government gets to seize property without due process.  Sounds like freedom to me!

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Yes, I know I’m being a little hyperbolic, and that “government” is an imperfect word to describe the organizers behind Burning Man.  But they do describe the event as an experiment in building a new kind of community, superior in its organization and principles than the rest of the nation.

And so for anyone interested in the mechanics and evolution of governments and societies, Burning Man is absolutely fascinating.

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I just have to say this by way of disclaimer here – I have nothing against Burning Man.  I rather like it, in fact.  50,000 or so hippies roll into town, spend thousands upon thousands of dollars in my community stocking up on supplies, and then go do all the things I would find objectionable way out in the desert.  Good on ’em.  They have a massive party, share their artwork, and then go home, spending some more money here on real food and (hopefully) showers before they drive their Burnermobiles back from whence they came.  There are works of tremendous creative minds that I would love to see and enjoy.  Someday when I have 5 or 6 spare C notes “burning” a hole in my pocket (yuk, yuk!), I’d like to check it out.

But I get awfully tired of hearing about how this party is somehow more valid or more “real” than the real world.  Or that it’s some kind of lesson for the rest of society.

Every year, I keep finding myself comparing the event to Sturgis – the huge motorcycle rally in Western South Dakota where I grew up.  Like Burning Man, it’s a week long party that celebrates a certain American sub-culture, and draws both the permanent participants and the casual fans of that culture.  It’s a break from reality, which is what any good vacation should be.

But to my knowledge, neither the promoters nor any significant number of bikers claim that Sturgis is anything more than just a huge party.  (That, and I think the concert lineup at the Buffalo Chip is WAY more to my taste…)

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The government of Burning Man is also a for-profit (gasp!) corporation, which charges people for their participation and (double gasp!) makes a substantial profit.  The only two items you can (officially) pay cash for at the event are ice and… coffee.  The Larry Harvey Administration has essentially created a statutory monopoly for itself on these two items within the boundaries of his city, ensuring that this corporation alone can profit from the sales of this unnecessary but enjoyable commodity.

How totally, like, crunchy and not, like, evil capitalist of him, man!

None of the artists who in some cases spend years developing their projects may profit from them – or even display them – without the express or implied permission of the organizers.  By the terms of the agreement participants sign on to when they come to the Black Rock, The Big Burning Man Corporation can prevent you not just from using your art in an ad campaign or selling it on your own website, but from so much as sharing your pictures that you took with your friends on Facebook.

These draconian policies are justified in the name of protecting the citizenry, of course.  For a community that prides itself on uniqueness, you’d think the rulers of that community could at least come up with a better, less historically abused excuse than that…

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Even taking the “reason” for this petty tyranny at face value, the interesting thing is that it’s unnecessary.  Because unfair exploitation of other people’s images, intellectual property, etc. is not a new problem, we in this country have over two centuries of continually tweaked and refined law to balance the protection of individuals, the promotion of free expression and innovation, and the reality of living in a large society.  It’s even addressed in the Constitution itself (Art. I, § 8, cl. 8).  In spite of the fervent fantasies of some of the participants, those laws even apply to Black Rock City.

One of the great advantages of Conservatism is that it recognizes that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel with every generation.  Conservatives aren’t afraid of change, but we are correctly cautious of it.  We know that many of our time-honored institutions and traditions have survived for so many years because they work!  We reject the notion of “Progressivism” which in its very name celebrates the mere act of change without regard to the end results of that “progress.”

By refusing to consider that American culture and tradition (not to mention legal history) has great merit, and refusing to adopt it to their own purposes, the hippies of Burning Man have tried to address their problems from scratch.  Focused only on the false and fleeting “freedom” of instant gratification without immediate consequence, they unintentionally put blinders on and forgot that Liberty is far, far more than rampant drug use and easy sex.  They sold their true freedom for the chance to publicly frolic in their birthday suits while stoned.

Now, that’s up to them, and if that’s the choice they’re willing to make, then great!  It’s a contractual relationship they’re free to enter into, and if they want to run around naked in the desert without paying someone for the privilege, it’s a big state with plenty of desert outside the realm of King Harvey.  Go nuts!

But please – don’t tell me that what you’re doing is a model for how the whole world should operate. Don’t get sanctimonious with me about the “spiritual significance” or “cultural importance” of the festival.

Whatever you do, don’t be so dishonest as to tell me it’s an exercise in freedom.