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Laissez-faire (/ ˌ l ɛ s eɪ ˈ f ɛər / LESS-ay-FAIR; or / l ɑː ˌ s ɛ z ˈ f ɛ. j ə r /, 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 ).
In the United States, classical liberalism, also called laissez-faire liberalism, [92] is the belief that a free-market economy is the most productive and government interference favors a few and hurts the many [original research?] —or as Henry David Thoreau stated, "that government is best which governs least". Classical liberalism is a ...
The freedom to contract is the underpinning of laissez-faire economics and is a cornerstone of free-market libertarianism. The proponents of the concept believe that through "freedom of contract", individuals possess a general freedom to choose with whom to contract, whether to contract or not, and on which terms to contract.
[60] [incomplete short citation] The strongest defender of laissez-faire was The Economist founded by James Wilson in 1843. The Economist criticised Ricardo for his lack of support for free trade and expressed hostility to welfare, believing that the lower orders were responsible for their economic circumstances.
According to Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (writing in 1956), "[l]iberalism in the American usage has little in common with the word as used in the politics of any European country, save possibly Britain". [40] In Europe, liberalism usually means what is sometimes called classical liberalism, a commitment to limited government, laissez-faire economics.
Historian Kathleen G. Donohue argues that classical liberalism in the United States during the 19th century had distinctive characteristics as opposed to Britain: "[A]t the center of classical liberal theory [in Europe] was the idea of laissez-faire.
In 1972, "Libertarian Party" was chosen as the party's name, selected over "New Liberty Party". [51] The first official slogan of the Libertarian Party was " There ain't no such thing as a free lunch " (abbreviated "TANSTAAFL"), a phrase popularized by Robert A. Heinlein in his 1966 novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress , sometimes dubbed "a ...
Others also describe libertarianism as a reactionary ideology for its support of laissez-faire capitalism and a major reversal of the modern welfare state. [ 32 ] In the 1960s, Rothbard started the publication Left and Right: A Journal of Libertarian Thought , believing that the left–right political spectrum had gone "entirely askew".