The 10 Principles of Burning Man, written 2004, are cultural guidelines for the community. They are crafted not as rules to govern how we should act, but as a projection of the community’s ethos – basically, be good to each other as humans and to our Earth.
- Participation
- Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play.
- Radical Self-reliance
- We encourage the individual to discover, exercise and rely on their inner resources.
- Communal Effort
- Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote, and protect public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
- Leave No Trace
- Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and do not disrupt the natural ecosystems we visit.
- Radical Inclusion
- We welcome and respect the stranger.
- Gifting
- RazorBurn is built on acts of giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.
- Radical Self-Expression
- Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.
- Decommodification
- To preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create an environment unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising.
- Civic Responsibility
- We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants.
- Immediacy
- Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers.