Radical ritual : how burning man changed the world / Neil Shister.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-234) and index.

The creation myth -- Gravitational waves -- "A new moment to gather" -- Da Vinci's workshop : one man's burn -- "On our best days we're finders"-- Chaos and control -- Art as a Trojan horse -- Re-sourcing civic engagement -- A culture of opposites -- In pursuit of a Utopian dream.

"Radical Ritual recounts, through interviews with fabled Burning Man personages, the festival's evolution from the first scrap wood bonfire on a San Francisco beach to the week-long extravaganza in Black Rock City. Written from Neil Shister's perspective as a five-time participant, journalist, and student of American culture, Radical Ritual presents Burning Man as vitally, historically important, a significant player in the avant-garde, forging new social paradigms as liberal democracy unravels. Burning Man's contribution to this new order is post-post modern, a fusion of sixties humanism with state-of-the-art Silicon Valley wizardry. Shister is not alone in his opinion. Led by conservative activist Grover Norquist, the Cato Institute recently held an event on what libertarians can learn from Burning Man. The festival intertwines conservative and progressive ideas. On one hand it is a celebration of self-reliance, personal accountability, and individual freedom; on the other hand it is based on strong values of inclusion, consensual decision-making, and centered, collaborative endeavor"-- Provided by publisher.