Markets at Burning Man

ESR knows very little about real gift economies. It's not always about abundance. In potlatch culture in the Pacific Northwest, originally the gifts had as much symbolic as practical value. The introduction of Western-style abundance actually ruined the whole system. See Lewis Hyde's The Gift for a much more thorough treatment, particularly the first two chapters.

As for Burning Man, it makes no sense to call it an "economy" when there is no scarcity. Every participant, with a few exceptions, has brought everything they need for survival in the desert for a week. Due to the nature of the event, few people are seeking luxuries.

Gifts at Burning Man are more about creating a mutually wonderful experience. Sometimes they take physical form, but more often the donation is directly related to experience -- art, performance, or a heightened generosity of spirit. This is not very much different from the change of attitude one might have at a potluck dinner, a block party, or a large rock concert where the fans feel themselves to be part of a particular subculture.

Not sure why people are downvoting him either. On my OS X Chrome, "Blow" is the beginning of a line, not the end of one. Rendering differences browsers make strategic linebreaks hard.

It's a shame, because that would have made the article much more fun.

As a 5-time burner, I've always enjoyed the contrast between the orgy of purchasing that precedes arrival to the playa, and the commerce-celibate environment on the playa.

The fun starts at the costume shops of Haight street -- with BRC-themed displays for weeks before, and ever-more -frantic shoppers leading up to event kickoff (and even midweek for later arrivers). The CruiseAmerica RV rental place near Oakland Airport seems to be nonstop burners the kickoff weekend. (They probably bring in extra vehicles from around the country to meet the demand.)

As you snake up I-80, every highwayside REI, Target, and Wal-Mart between SF and Reno has evidence of burner purchasing. Wal-Marts have special front-of-store presentations of exactly the camper/raver/cycling/desert supplies burners need. And plenty of Home Depots, from SF to Reno, are filled with people buying building and art supplies.

And then: you reach the 'oasis' of no commerce at Black Rock. The contrast is beautiful; the experiment in intentional and temporary community is perception-altering, with lessons for the rest of the world.

But if you fail to notice that it's the wealth and specialization of a giant, competitive, cash-seeking economy that made it all possible, you're blind to the whole picture. Barter economies never invent EL wire and computer-controlled LED displays, among other things.