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Laissez-faire

Laissez-faire (/ˌlɛsˈfɛər/ LESS-ay-FAIR; from French: laissez faire [lɛse fɛːʁ] , lit.'let do') is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, laissez-faire rests on the following axioms: "the individual is the basic unit in society, i.e., the standard of measurement in social calculus; the individual has a natural right to freedom; and the physical order of nature is a harmonious and self-regulating system."[1] The original phrase was laissez faire, laissez passer, with the second part meaning "let (things) pass". It is generally attributed to Vincent de Gournay.[2]

Another basic principle of laissez-faire holds that markets should naturally be competitive, a rule that the early advocates of laissez-faire always emphasized.[1]


The Physiocrats were early advocates of laissez-faire and advocated for a impôt unique, a tax on land rent to replace the "monstrous and crippling network of taxation that had grown up in 17th century France".[3] Their view was that only land should be taxed because land is not produced but a naturally existing resource, meaning a tax on it wouldn't be taking from the labour of the taxed, unlike most other taxes.[4]


Proponents of laissez-faire argue for a near complete separation of government from the economic sector.[5] The phrase laissez-faire is part of a larger French phrase and literally translates to "let [it/them] do", but in this context the phrase usually means to "let it be" and in expression "laid back".[6] Although never practiced with full consistency, laissez-faire capitalism emerged in the mid-18th century and was further popularized by Adam Smith's book The Wealth of Nations.[7][8]

(1986). The Passion of Ayn Rand. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company. ISBN 0-385-19171-5. OCLC 12614728.

Branden, Barbara

Burns, Jennifer (2009). . New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-532487-7. OCLC 313665028.

Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right

Den Uyl, Douglas & Rasmussen, Douglas, eds. (1986) [1984]. (paperback ed.). Chicago: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-01407-9.

The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand

Peikoff, Leonard (1991). . New York: Dutton. ISBN 978-0-452-01101-4.

Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand

Merrill, Ronald E. (1991). . La Salle, Illinois: Open Court Publishing. ISBN 0-8126-9157-1.

The Ideas of Ayn Rand

(1995). Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-0-271-01440-1. OCLC 31133644.

Sciabarra, Chris Matthew

at Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Laissez-faire