laissez-faire
noun
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The French phrase laissez faire literally means “allow to do,” with the idea being “let people do as they choose.” The origins of laissez-faire are associated with the Physiocrats, a group of 18th-century French economists who believed that government policy should not interfere with the operation of natural economic laws. (The actual coiner of the phrase may have been French economist Vincent de Gournay, or it may have been François Quesnay, who is considered the group’s founder and leader.) The original phrase was “laissez faire, laissez passer,” with the second part meaning “let (things) pass.” Laissez-faire, which first showed up in an English context in the first half of the 19th century, can still mean “a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs,” but it is also used in broader contexts in which a “hands-off” or “anything-goes” policy or attitude is adopted. It is frequently used as an adjective meaning “favoring a ‘hands-off’ policy,” as in “laissez-faire economics.”
Examples of laissez-faire in a Sentence
Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2024
The mainstream narrative paints the decades since the Ronald Reagan presidency as a period defined by a total commitment to laissez-faire economics.
—Connor Okeeffe, Orange County Register, 25 Sep. 2024
But the city ended its laissez-faire approach by creating an on-ramp period for the I-71 shop operators to apply to become legal medical dispensaries.
—Cuneyt Dil, Axios, 18 Sep. 2024
To be sure, in the past decade Democrats and Republicans have abandoned the fiscal straitjacket of the Nineties, drifting away from laissez-faire economics and toward more nationalist policies on trade, infrastructure, and immigration.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 25 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for laissez-faire 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'laissez-faire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Laissez-faire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laissez-faire. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
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