Burning Man relies on a "giving economy" where attendees are encouraged to give goods and services free of charge—a system that Harvey has called "old-fashioned capitalism." And this is hardly the first instance of capitalists like Norquist being drawn to Burning Man. In recent years, Silicon Valley's elite, including Google CEO Eric Schmidt, have flocked to the event.
Norquist says the festival is a good example of the theory of spontaneous order. The theory, which was promoted by Austrian economists like Friedrich Hayek, holds that a natural structure will emerge out of a seemingly chaotic environment without need for outside intervention.
"There's no government that organizes this," Norquist said. "That's what happens when nobody tells you what to do. You just figure it out. So Burning Man is a refutation of the argument that the state has a place in nature."
"This is a fun, exciting, cheerful collection of people being free of state control and doing stuff they want to do," he continued. "If somebody wants to sit in a corner and read Hayek, I think that that's allowed. If people want to run around with not as much clothes as they normally do, I think that's allowed as well."
Once he gets to Black Rock, he doesn't have an objective. "I'm going to chat with people who have done it before and who are there, and go with the flow," he said.
Grover Norquist flouts his anarchism.
Does the state have a place in nature?
Emma Roller
5 comments:
Well given that human beings are a very successful eusocial species just exactly how does Norquist expect decisions on the direction that eusociality should take without democratic processes and government when there are conflicting opinions?
Exactly who does he expect to create the "determinant" (money) to implement any agreed decisions?
It is easy to play the blame game and use government as a whipping target especially when it's captured by the super-rich of which I'm sure Norquist aspires too be if not already is.
Why at the end of the day should we give any credence to Norquist's crocodile tears?
Norquist is his own best enemy. He provides damning evidence against himself every time he opens his mouth.
Norquist seems to be confusing Burning Man - a temporary festival in the middle of one wealthiest developed countries on the planet, with Mad Max.
Right. Exactly what this proves about "spontaneous order" is nothing.
Just goes to show that the bohemian anarchist hipster of today is just the biologically immature version of the laissez faire ideologue of tomorrow.
No economy of any significant size can be organized around the vagaries of spontaneous gifting. It boggles the mind that these young people could be that obtuse. Of course, our educational system doesn't do a very good job these days. But hand it to Norquist: he knows how to recruit.
Americans are infants. They continually recreate their inegalitarian and predatory society by exalting absolute voluntariness and unhinged personal liberty over social organization and a rule of law establishing social justice. We hyper-indulge our children and turn them into willful, starry-eyed idiots whose entire code of conduct boils down to "you can't make me." - so that they will then grow up to be needy self-seekers fighting off the forces of equality, social planning and mutual obligation.
I hate to say it, but the only thing that will cure Americans of this radical narcisistic individualism is the violent global shitstorm that might be right over the horizon. Once they are dragged kicking into a global melee - one that won't be fought this time by hired guns like Blackwater and only the poor black and Hispanic kids - they will realize how little they actually count for as individuals, and how little can actually get done by "gifting".
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