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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame ==Origin== French ''laissez faire'', imperative of ''laisser faire'' to let (people) do (as they [[choose]...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:570076743_2095235.gif‎|right|frame]]

==Origin==
French ''laissez faire'', imperative of ''laisser faire'' to let (people) do (as they [[choose]])
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 1825]
According to historical [[legend]], the phrase stems from a meeting in about 1681 between the powerful French finance minister [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert] and a group of French businessmen led by a certain M. Le Gendre. When the [[eager]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism mercantilist] minister asked how the French state could be of [[service]] to the merchants and help promote their [[commerce]], Le Gendre replied simply "''Laissez-nous faire''" ("Let us be," literally "Let us do"). The anecdote on the Colbert-Le Gendre meeting was related in a 1751 article in the Journal Oeconomique by the French minister and champion of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_trade free trade], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Louis_de_Voyer_de_Paulmy_d%27Argenson René de Voyer, Marquis d'Argenson] – which happens to also be the phrase's first known appearance in print.
==Definitions==
*1: a [[doctrine]] opposing [[governmental]] [[interference]] in [[economic]] affairs beyond the minimum [[necessary]] for the maintenance of [[peace]] and property [[rights]]
*2: a philosophy or [[practice]] characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from [[direction]] or interference especially with [[individual]] [[freedom]] of choice and [[action]]
==Description==
'''Laissez-faire''' is an [[economic]] environment in which [[transactions]] between [[private]] parties are free from [[government]] restrictions, tariffs, and subsidies, with only enough regulations to protect [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_rights property rights]. The phrase ''laissez-faire'' is French and [[literally]] means "let [them] do," but it broadly implies "let it be," "let them do as they will," or "leave it alone."[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laissez-faire]

[[Category: Economics]]

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