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
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Photo: Jeenah Moon The laissez-faire era of the city’s e-bike and moped boom might also be winding down.
—Jesse Coburn, Curbed, 31 Jan. 2025
The Kid who became The Man for a generation of hockey fans in and outside of Pittsburgh, Crosby’s intensity contrasts with Lemieux’s laissez-faire personality.
—Rob Rossi, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
But freeing Ulbricht remained a big issue for libertarians like Clarke, who, given their laissez-faire philosophy, embraced pro-crypto policy before most Republicans or Democrats.
—Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Laissez-faire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laissez-faire. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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