ELS 2017: Can Burning Man Culture Spark Political Change?

It’s not easy to talk about politics and Burning Man at the same time. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like Burning Man is about politics, so it’s hard to know where to start. That’s an illusion, though. For one thing, any decision to spend one’s time, money and energy on one thing and not another is a political decision. But moreover, if Burning Man can be said to be about anything, surely “imagining a better world” is a good candidate for what that thing might be, and that is squarely the realm of politics.

Ronan Harrington is one of the characters in the global Burning Man community who can always be relied upon to go there. Burning Man events transformed him, and he’s built upon that experience to create a model he thinks could bring about that better world we imagine. At the 2017 European Leadership Summit in Stockholm, he gave this talk about that possibility:

About the author: Jon Mitchell

Jon Mitchell

, a.k.a. Argus, was publisher of the Burning Man Journal, the Jackrabbit Speaks newsletter, and the Burning Man website from 2016 to 2019. He joined the Comm Team as a volunteer in 2010 and as year-round staff in 2014. He co-wrote a big story about spending 24 hours at the Temple of Juno in 2012. His first Burn was in 2008.

2 Comments on “ELS 2017: Can Burning Man Culture Spark Political Change?

  • roissy says:

    After watching the video, nope…
    Ronan Harrington technique is only going to cater to the 2%… (and I am not talking about the top either.)

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  • Siobhan says:

    As I observed you as a twelve year old boy I often pondered your future path… Unafraid to question, always dredging the depths….you are now an amazing inspiring young man. You have journeyed and ‘seen’….may we soon follow. Go nEirí an tádh leat. Siobhán O Sullivan

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