Laissez-faire

From RationalWiki

Laissez-faire literally means "to let be" or "allow to do." A laissez-faire government is one that does not meddle more than strictly necessary in the affairs of its citizens.

Folklore suggests that it come from the answer Jean-Baptiste Colbert, controller general of finance under King Louis XIV of France, received when he asked industrialists what the government could do to help business: “Leave us alone.”^[1] Others maintain the term originated with a group of French economists known as the Physiocrats.^[2]

Few political movements still believe in a truly laissez-faire economic system. Even most libertarians believe in some small amount of government work, such as building and maintaining roads and providing a military.

[edit] See also

• Rugged individualism
• Free market

[edit] Footnotes

1. ↑ "Leave us alone." they said.
2. ↑ One origin of Laissez-faire

S T U B (The Pet Goat ate it)