ABSTRACT
The central premise of the John A. Baden and Dean Lueck paper holds that the private market, rather than government, is the best allocation mechanism for income streams and wealth arising from natural resources in this case on wilderness lands. A closer look at the intellectual origins of laissez-faire, as developed by the French Physiocrats, emphasizes this common sense point of view. Rather than a sweeping invocation of government non-interference, the true doctrine of laissez-faire followed Thomas Aquinas' view that "when reason argues about particular cases, it needs not only universal but particular principles." Perhaps, as William Tucker argues, environmentalists are nothing but a bunch of closet aristocrats, seeking to prevent real Americans from enjoying the sights and scenery and riches locked up on public lands. The argument that environmental interest groups should assume responsibility for management of public lands does not follow from the premise that private decisions are superior to government management.
