Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria writes in The Future of Freedom: “First, a government must be able to control the governed, then it must be able to control itself. Order plus liberty. These two forces will, in the long run, produce legitimate government, prosperity and liberal democracy.” Now that Saddam’s regime is gone, the U.S. […]
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Economics is about choices, not money. Money is only a useful measuring tool. But as the Hoover Institution’s Thomas Sowell has so rightly observed, what economists measure best are not those things that matter most. Yet, the economic way of thinking helps me understand two divisive issues, sexually oriented business and the burning of tires […]
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Yesterday Americans celebrated our 33rd Earth Day. I spent the first fighting to protect the Lincoln Backcountry from the U.S. Forest Service. They proposed an economically idiotic development plan for that high-elevation and extremely fragile area. In 1972 we won that battle and I’ve seen great environmental progress since. The air and water are cleaner […]
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My colleague John Baden has long argued that economics is best understood as a branch of evolutionary biology. Like biological systems, economic life evolves as people and organizations learn, respond, and innovate. Markets, like DNA-driven organisms, are highly efficient information-processing systems. The realization that prices transmit and process information was a great insight of the […]
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Our pride in the U.S. military’s men and women is bound to increase even further. Why? In this war their demonstrated bravery, competence, and daring are barely diminished by bureaucratic and political dishonesty. Lies from the top in any organization demoralize and diminish those below. This is true for churches and colleges as well as […]
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Many of those opposed to our military action in Iraq shout, “No blood for oil!” They believe our desire for Iraqi oil, not security, motivates our actions. Do these people think in terms of slogans, or causal relationships? If they don’t understand the driving force of allied military policy, they may be correct, but not […]
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I’m writing soon after the invasion of Iraq began. I’m scheduled to travel before this appears. What can I say that’s neither trite nor obsolete, but surely true? First, few adults live here by accident or assignment. We have consciously, deliberately elected to live in the Northern Rockies. The reasons carry a common theme; attraction […]
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Change is our only certainty. How we handle it is important. Some risks can be reduced or insured against, such as illness, auto wrecks, and fires. But many risks offer opportunities. Progress implies change and change implies risk. But when considering our environment, many would avoid all risks. Instead they defer to the “precautionary principle.” […]
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In 1989, 60 Minutes produced a panicky story alleging the chemical Alar (used to retard the rotting of apples) greatly increased the risk of childhood cancers. Across America, parents poured apple juice down the drain and stores pulled apple products from shelves. The Washington Post described the event as “one of several food scares that […]
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I applaud state senator Emily Stonington’s (D-Bozeman) Senate Bill 240. The bill would have required methane-drilling companies to seriously consider the impact of their activities on the owners of surface rights. Her bill implicitly recognizes the importance of property rights and illustrates their evolutionary nature. Clear and enforceable property rights subject to the rule of […]
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