Home

laissez

Laisez is the second-person plural imperative form of the French verb laisser, meaning to let, leave, or permit. It functions as a helper in a variety of fixed expressions and idioms in both everyday French and in phrases borrowed into other languages.

The most prominent term containing laissez is laissez-faire, a compound noun and adjective meaning a policy

In usage, laisser appears in many common French expressions such as Laissez faire! or Laissez-moi faire, meaning

See also: laissez-passer, non-interventionism, liberalism, free-market economy.

of
allowing
things
to
occur
without
government
interference.
The
phrase
literally
translates
as
“let
do”
or
“let
it
be,”
and
it
became
associated
with
economic
liberalism
and
non-interventionist
public
policy
in
the
18th
and
19th
centuries.
While
the
idea
predates
the
label,
laissez-faire
was
popularized
in
English-language
political
economy
and
remains
a
key
descriptor
for
markets
viewed
as
most
efficient
when
free
from
regulatory
constraints.
“let
me
do
it.”
A
related
term,
laissez-passer,
uses
the
same
root
to
mean
a
travel
document
that
permits
the
holder
to
pass
through
a
controlled
area.
Beyond
its
linguistic
function,
laissez
as
a
component
of
laissez-faire
is
often
invoked
in
discussions
of
economic
theory,
governance,
and
political
philosophy
to
denote
a
stance
of
limited
state
intervention.