Burning Man sold radical self-expression. Then tickets hit $575. Add RV rental, costumes, supplies, travel - easy $2500 to “reject materialism” in Nevada.
The Product: Temporary rebellion you can schedule. Tech VPs in neon fur “finding themselves” between Slack messages. Instagram models documenting “off-grid authenticity” with $5000 cameras. Burning the Man as cathartic ritual replacing actual change.
The Players: Zuckerberg goes. Bezos went. Musk talks about it. Silicon Valley loves Burners - shows you’re “creative.” Billionaires networking in air-conditioned camps while preaching decommodification. Everyone returns Monday to the same job, same life, just better festival stories.
The System: Commodified counterculture IS commodity. “Leave No Trace” except carbon footprint of 80,000 people driving to the desert. “Radical self-reliance” requiring RV rental companies and logistics consultants. Real radicals don’t need $575 tickets - they just rebel.
The Cope: One week playing poor as luxury experience. Seven days of dusty tutus, then back to corporate comfort. Revolution that happens annually in costume, changes nothing permanently.
You paid thousands to burn an effigy. What are you actually afraid to burn down in your real life?