The theory of free market environmentalism is founded on certain visions regarding human nature, knowledge, and process. Sowell believes that human beings are egocentric and although we may consider ourselves altruistic towards fellow man, we are primarily concerned with their own needs first. In short he feels that if man is going to be a good steward of the land, he must have some sort of incentive to do so. This incentive being some sort of personal wealth. Secondly, knowledge plays an important role in free market environmentalism.
Good stewardship involves environmental concerns which require exceptional effort and understanding.
Obtaining information on the interaction of various ecosystems which depend on each other for example, would require a great degree of research. Thus, knowledge is not easily attainable and varies from time to time as well as place to place. What knowledge may be useful in one community, may not necessarily be useful to another. Knowledge in centralized political resource management differs from knowledge in free market environmentalism in that, the average person is expected to know less about what is best for the environment. Thus, government mandates public policy on which environmental issues are more important than others.