I co-founded Burning Man. The festival has lost its soul

The co-founder says Burning Man has transformed from a small, anarchic, self-organized gathering rooted in Dada, surrealism and the Cacophony Society into a lavish, curated spectacle that caters to wealthy attendees with luxury camps, private chefs and chartered flights. He argues the original “anarchist soul”—a leaderless, principle-free collaboration of equals—has been replaced by a commercialized, elite-focused carnival.