laissez faire
3
8.3
- noun
- /ˌlɛseɪ ˈfɛr/
- Formal
:
laissez-faire
- The concept of laissez faire suggests that free markets operate best when left alone by regulators.
- laissez-faire policy
- laissez-faire economics
I think Marx is the one that coins laissez faire as capitalism or something.
- I think Marx is the one that coins laissez faire as capitalism or something.
Examples
-
In essence, Sandel is asking readers to take a more comprehensive view of the real-life implications of laissez-faire economics.
Academic text (2016) -
The history of United States drug policy is complex, ranging from laissez-faire to strict prohibition.
Academic text (2009) -
The result is an expansion of the principle of laissez-faire to fill every demand for learning.
Academic text (1996) -
Such restrictions are imposed in Europe, where the spirit of laissez-faire has never been as strong.
Academic text (1996) -
Using the principle of laissez-faire, government needs to keep its hand out of small and big business alike.
Blog text (19) -
Keep in mind: this isn't laissez-faire free market stuff we are talking about here.
Blog text (34) -
Such conditions were the result of raw capitalism, the apotheosis of laissez-faire.
Academic text (2004) -
What is often not fully appreciated is how quickly the theory of market failure developed, from the laissez-faire state to the New Deal regulatory state in a few decades' time.
Academic text (2017) -
And liberalism's central principle of laissez-faire was abandoned in the depths of the Depression.
Academic text (2012) -
Ideologically, the tension between laissez-faire capitalism and socially progressive politics was far from resolved in favor of one or the other.
Academic text (2016)
Synonyms
30
3.8
A system where private businesses compete and the market sets prices with little government control
15
4.1
Freedom to act and make choices without someone controlling you
1
4.1
A way of running an economy that lets businesses compete with little government control
Antonyms
258
4.1
Becoming involved in a situation to change what happens, often to help solve a problem
How Interventionist
1
6.4
5
5.8
- Specialized
2
4.1
- Formal
3
8.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
laissez + faire
This is a French loan phrase literally meaning 'let do' (laissez = let, faire = do), so if a learner knew the constituent meanings they could infer the general idea of non‑interference. However, in English it functions as a specialized economic/political term whose precise scope and usage are lexicalized, so the full, technical meaning is not entirely predictable from the literal parts. Therefore it is partially but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Laissez faire comes from French words laissez ('let') and faire ('do'), first used by business people to mean 'let things be'. The image of someone saying 'leave my shop alone' is why laissez faire today means the idea that government should not get involved in business.