The Burning Man: Ten Guiding Principles

The Burning Man, a logo for a corporation, essentially a brand name like any other that is being managed under the inevitably parasitic nature of the corporate structure.

There is a point where these two sides of the same coin meet and that can be discerned, it is the ten guiding principles of the Burning Man. Larry Harvey, who was the first one to say, "Hey, let's burn a man." and then did it, seems to be trying to maintain the noble mission of having the Burning Man produce positive spiritual change in the world. His selection of a theme for each year to direct the creative energies connected with this event is one of the most effective methods of protecting and encouraging that original spirit.

Theme 2009 : Evolution

Evolution could be the underlying motto of all Burning Man events. To go from an individuals act of radical self expression, at a beach in San Francisco, California and attended by less than two dozen people in 1986, to an annual sold-out event, in 2009, on the desert playa in northern Nevada attended by over 50,000 visitors paying $210 to $300 per ticket, requires some systemic changes.

Radical change is no stranger to the Burning Man Project, you might even say that encouraging the radical nature is a function of the ten principles they espouse. Radical inclusion, radical self-reliance and radical self-expression are three of the ten.

Community and Participation

Communal effort and participation, two more of the guiding principals, create a bond that extends beyond the week of being residents of Black Rock City. This is expressed in more than the feeling of belonging, it has taken the effective manifestation of the Black Rock Arts Foundation. Art is inextricably tied to Burning Man, it is the reason for being and the preferred modus operandi. This is carried on into the year, long after the actual Burning Man, by the Black Rock Art Foundation's support of public art beyond the event and throughout the year.

The city of Black Rock is assembled from scratch each year, occupied for the event and then de-constructed and literally erased ( per another principle, 'leave no trace') until the next year. To do this on a scale large enough to house 50,000 radical self-expressionists requires considerable management and preparation. Communal participation and the corporate world view are two directions that tend to diverge. The larger the crowds get and the more potential profits there are, the more the ten guiding principles and the mission statement suffer from erosion instead of adapting through evolution.

Immediacy and Civic Responsibility

These two principles of Burning Man seem to be thriving, the participants are doing just that, participating in the moment. They have gone to some trouble to travel to an out-of-the-way place for just that purpose and opportunity.

"Create a society that connects individuals to their creative powers, to participate in community, the larger realm of civic life and the even greater world of nature beyond society.", a quote from the mission statement of the Burning Man Project. Sharing of civic responsibilities, experiencing it rather than theorizing about it, brings with it the immediacy of life, the here and now, being in the present.

Gifting and De-commodification

These last two guiding principles of Burning Man, maybe the first to go, are certainly the most endangered. These and a few of the related sections from the mission statement such as; "moral relations before politics, work before vested interest, participant support before sponsorship". The corporate structure has been haggled over in court and the Burning Man as an entity has gone through various evolutions of its own that have had more to do with vested interest and politics than moral relations.

The corporation is gifting only members of the corporation (it is their purpose) while they do their best to turn the Burning Man into a brand and a commodity. In spite of this the volunteers, and others involved in putting on the Burning Man each year, work to maintain the spirit of the shaky but still standing group of ten guiding principles. The very last sentence in the mission statement holds out more hope and encouragement than all the rest put together. "We will always Burn the Man". Burn, baby, burn!

Reference:
www.burningman.com
www.wikipedia.org