The Elders’ Error: Neglecting Intellectual Entrepreneurship Last week’s FREE Insight discussed my decision to accept Montana State University’s offer. My mentors considered this a youthful indiscretion and strongly objected. Instead, they suggested I court a better-known school, one attracting an endless stream of high quality faculty and visitors. This would help me create networks with […]
Read MoreWhen Elders Error, Part I I have long respected the wisdom of elders. f.n. Of course not all elderly are wise and even the wisest among them make occasional mistakes. An important challenge for a young person is to know when to accept and when to reject their advice. I was extremely lucky when I […]
Read MoreMy next few columns explore the Bozeman area’s increasingly strong appeal to people with many options. This includes not only Bozeman proper but also the communities around it; Gallatin Gateway, Manhattan, Big Sky, and a few others. I’ve thought about and lived with this attractive puzzle for over four decades. With my best interest at […]
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How Mining Externalities Affect Liberty, Ecology, and Prosperity Introduction by John Baden FREE works in the intellectual policy arena, never in partisan politics. We stress the critical importance of responsible liberty. Such liberty includes liability for the consequences of actions that harm others. Economists have an awkward word for imposition of costs on others, externalities. […]
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Yellowstone Wolves in 2015 Tuesday morning a neighbor reported a wolf sighting just south of our home near the spring pasture where our steers graze. Our neighbor advised Ramona to carry a gun on her morning walks on ranch roads. At times she is more than a mile from our buildings and far out of […]
Read MoreYellowstone National Park and Change This and the following FREE Insights will deal with the changing environments effecting Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone was created in 1872 as the world’s first national park. Many referred to it as “America’s Best Idea.” Ken Burns produced a 2009 PBS documentary series with that title. The goal for the […]
Read MoreYellowstone National Park and Change This and the two following FREE Insights will deal with the changing environments effecting Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone was created in 1872 as the world’s first national park. Many referred to it as “America’s Best Idea.” Ken Burns produced a 2009 PBS documentary series with that title. The goal for […]
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This is Bozeman, a website to soon be launched, will feature FREE’s essays on Liberty, Ecology and Prosperity. The title of the series is Gateway to Wisdom. This is Bozeman EDITOR’S NOTE BY TODD WILKINSON: John Baden will be writing a weekly column to appear every Monday at This Is Bozeman. He will explore the […]
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I am an economic anthropologist by both inclination and training. Connections linking culture, economics, and politics seem obvious. And among sane people, coherence usually links these conceptually distinct arenas. Here is an example. When traveling I’ll usually visit a Cabela’s store if I happen across one. Their wildlife displays are remarkably well crafted. But that […]
Read MoreEnforcers of “Progressive” Positions on Climate Change Introduction by John Baden Climate change is a highly divisive topic. Arguments over it are worsened by America’s devolution into political capitalism. In this economic and political system elites cooperate for mutual benefit. The top players in each sector coordinate their behavior to rig the game in their […]
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