Economics
From Nulisbus
Template:Combi |Template:Libertarianism |- |Template:Liberalism |} Laissez-faire (Template:IPA2) 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">Template:Cite journal</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 anarchists take the idea to its full length by opposing all taxation. Laissez-faire also embodies free trade, namely that a state should not use protectionist measures, such as tariffs, in order to curtail trade through national frontiers.
In the early stages of European and American economic theory, laissez-faire economic policy was contrasted with mercantilist economic policy, which had been the dominant system of the United Kingdom, Spain, France and other European countries, during their rise to power.
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>
Laissez-faire is associated with classical liberalism, libertarianism, and Objectivism.Template:Fact 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—Bentham did, but only with the advent of the Anti-Corn Law League did the term receive much of its (English) meaning.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Economic theory
The laissez-faire means that the neoclassical school of economic thought holds a pure or 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.
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. 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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