Burning Man has, for over a decade, been a refuge for urbanites seeking an respite from their comfortable, patterned lives.  What motivates tens of thousands to move to and create an instant anarchic city in the desert?  There may not be a simple answer.

Whatever the reason for the yearly pilgrimage to Black Rock City, there are principles underlying the functioning of this city.  For example, one of the cultural elements of this intentional city is an environmental ethic to never allow a piece of trash to touch the ground. Another is that money cannot change hands.  No corporate promotions or sponsorships are allowed.

So what is the economic model?  Is Black Rock City and the Burning Man Festival truly running on a gift economy?  Or is there some other financial model running beneath the surface?

Is Burning Man just a "free" carnival for urban pagans, artists, and anarchists shaping their own social ecology; or is there an underlying form of governance and economic model that attracts tens of thousands of self-sufficient revelers to Burning Man each year?

The article below sheds more light on the economics and governance of Burning Man and Black Rock City.

The Changing Face of the Burning Man Festival

TENS of thousands of volunteers are gathering to build a city in a Nevada desert that is notorious for triple-digit temperatures, high winds and blinding plumes of dust.  Their organizer is a for-profit company that has collected millions in revenue over the last decade, largely because of this donated labor. At a distance, it’s easy to wonder: why are these people working so hard — in the blazing heat, no less — for a company they don’t own?

That’s one of the paradoxes of Burning Man, the annual arts festival whose attractions include colossal art installations, all-night dance parties, marathon kite-flying sessions, off-kilter fashion shows, and classes where revelers can learn things that range from Hula Hooping to playing the ukulele to making absinthe.

The short answer is simple: the company behind Burning Man doesn’t act like a traditional business. Although it derives its revenue from ticket sales, festivalgoers don’t see themselves as customers. Rather, they are Burners, part of a cultural movement governed by 10 principles that include communal effort, self-reliance, gift-giving and fostering a social environment that is “unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions or advertising.”

For More Information:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/business/growing-pains-for-burning-man-festival.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1