Why is Burning Man able to solve the moral problem of littering, but not the moral problem of bike theft?

in #burninglast year

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  • Leave No Trace is part of the Burner Identity. Steal No Bike is not.
  • Being able to litter isn’t particularly fun or useful. Having a bike is.
  • People can justify stealing bikes by half-believing that the bike they are using is a “public bike.” (Such things do exist at Burning Man.)
  • The gift-economy nature of Burning Man makes concerns about property rights less salient.
  • Hurting the environment is very important to Burners (more so than worrying about property rights).

Littering is easy to spot. Bike theft is not.