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| - | |{{Libertarianism}}
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| - | '''Laissez-faire''' ({{IPA2|lɛse fɛr}}) is a French phrase meaning "let do" or "hands off". From the French diction first used by the [[18th century]] [[physiocrats]] as an injunction against government interference with trade, it became used as a synonym for strict [[free market]] [[economics]] during the early and mid-[[19th century]]. It is generally understood to be a doctrine that maintains that private initiative and production are best allowed to roam free, opposing [[economic interventionism]] and [[taxation]] by the state beyond that which is perceived to be necessary to maintain peace, security, and property rights.<ref name="Hanlin">{{cite journal|author=Oscar Handlin|title=Laissez-Faire thought in Massachusetts, 1790-1880|year=1943|journal=Journal of Economic History|volume=3|pages=55-65}}</ref> In this view, it is not the job of the state to intervene in the economy in an attempt to reduce [[inequality]], [[poverty]] or protect [[worker's rights]] (except to the extent that they are covered under [[property rights]]). [[Free-market anarchist]]s take the idea to its full length by opposing all taxation. Laissez-faire also embodies [[free trade]], namely that a state should not use [[protectionism|protectionist measures]], such as [[tariff]]s, in order to curtail trade through national frontiers.
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| - | In the early stages of European and American [[economics|economic]] theory, laissez-faire economic policy was contrasted with ''[[mercantilism|mercantilist]]'' economic policy, which had been the dominant system of the United Kingdom, Spain, France and other European countries, during their rise to power.
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| - | The term ''laissez-faire'' is often used interchangeably with the term "[[free market]]." Some use the term ''laissez-faire'' to refer to "let do, let pass" attitude for matters outside of economics.<ref>As well as being used in economic management, the term has also been applied more broadly to a style of [[management]] and [[leadership]], where it typically describes any form of control where the controlled are given most or all of the decision-making power. In this limited usage, ''laissez-faire'' (imperative) has come to be distinct from ''laisser faire'' (infinitive), which refers to a careless attitude in the application of a policy, implying a lack of consideration or thought.</ref>
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| - | Laissez-faire is associated with [[classical liberalism]], [[libertarianism]], and [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}<!--"associated with" is too weak as it can include anything.--> It was originally introduced in the English-language world in 1774, by [[George Whatley]], in the book 'Principles of Trade', which was co-authored with [[Benjamin Franklin]]. Classical economists, such as [[Thomas Malthus]], [[Adam Smith]] and [[David Ricardo]] did not use the term—[[Jeremy Bentham|Bentham]] did, but only with the advent of the [[Anti-Corn Law League]] did the term receive much of its (English) meaning.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Abbott P. Usher et al.|title=Economic History--The Decline of Laissez Faire|year=1931|journal=American Economic Review|volume=22|issue=1, Supplement|pages=3-10}}</ref>
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| - | == Economic theory ==
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| - | The ''laissez-faire'' means that the neoclassical school of economic thought holds a pure or [[Economic liberalism|economically liberal]] market view: that the [[free market]] is best left to its own devices, and that it will dispense with inefficiencies in a more deliberate and quick manner than any legislating body could. The basic idea is that less [[government]] interference in private economic decisions such as pricing, production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services makes for a better (more efficient) economy.
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| - | Economist [[Adam Smith]] in his book '[[Wealth of Nations]]' argued that the ''[[invisible hand]]'' of the market would guide people to act in the public interest by following their own self-interest, since the only way to make money would be through voluntary exchange, and thus the only way to get the people's money was to ''give the people what they want.''
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| - | Smith pointed out that one does not get one's dinner by appealing to the brother-love of the butcher, the farmer or the baker. Rather one appeals to their self interest, and pays them for their labour.
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| - | ==Bibliography==
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| - | * {{cite journal|author=Brebner, John Bartlet|year=1948|title=Laissez Faire and State Intervention in Nineteenth-Century Britain|journal=Journal of Economic History|volume=8|pages=59-73}}
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| - | * {{cite journal|author=[[Irving Fisher|Fisher, Irving]]|year=1907|month=January|title=Why has the Doctrine of Laissez Faire been Abandoned?|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=25|issue=627| pages=18-27}}
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| - | * {{cite journal|author=[[Frank William Taussig|Taussig, Frank W.]]|year=1904|title=The Present Position of the Doctrine of Free Trade|journal=[[American Economic Association|Publications of the American Economic Association]]|volume=6|issue=1|pages=29-65}}
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| - | </div>
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