Beyond the immediate circle of our friends and family, we are accustomed to a public world that is primarily governed by impersonal commodity transactions. When we buy things in this marketplace we appropriate them for our exclusive use, and it has become possible, within the world of modern convenience culture, to satisfy all of our appetites and desires without reference to others. Consumption has replaced communion in our modern age. By way of vivid contrast, an exchange of gifts creates involvement with the lives of those around us. It forges an immediate emotional and moral bond with other people.
Community can only begin when a part of the self is given away.
The first village at Burning Man was Black Rock City itself. It was founded in 1990 when a small group of people accompanied Burning Man to the Black Rock Desert. Participants, prompted by a natural impulse, formed a circle surrounding a central shade structure, a single parachute and tent pole. As our settlement gradually expanded, four roads, aligned at right angles to one another, were extended outward from this rudimentary public plaza. Its inner perimeter was soon lined with lampposts and flagpoles.