SHAH SAUD TORUM. Phil Scholar in Sociology 2nd Semester

Bacha Khan University Charssadda

Presentation on

Laissez-faire &

Herbert Spencer

This Presentation is in two Parts

PART -1PART -2

Herbert Spencer Best Known For:Early Life and Education:Career and Later Life:Major Publications:

PART -1

Developing and applying evolutionary theory to philosophy, psychology and the study of society.

Helping to develop the functionalist perspective, one of the major theoretical frameworks in sociology.

His political thoughts, primarily his defense of natural rights and for criticisms of utilitarian positivism

Herbert Spencer Best Known For:

Herbert Spencer was born in Derby, England. He was the eldest of nine children, but the only

one to survive infancy. Spencer's father was a school teacher, however he was very unconventional and Herbert therefore received a largely informal and undisciplined education.

Spencer had many eclectic interests and eventually trained as a civil engineer for railways. In his early 20s, however, he turned to journalism and political writing.

Early Life and Education:

From 1848 to 1853, Spencer worked as a writer and subeditor for The Economist financial weekly.

In his early writings, Spencer defended a number of radical causes,

particularly on land nationalization, the extent to which economics should

reflect a policy of laissez-faire, and the place and role of women in society.

Career and Later Life:

He eventually came to abandon most of these causes later in his life.

Among many of the honors he was given, Spencer was nominated for the Nobel Prize

for Literature in 1902. He declined most of the honors he was

given.

Career and Later Life:: CONTI

Social Statics: The Conditions Essential to Human Happiness (1850)

Education (1854) The Principles of Psychology (1855) The Principles of Sociology (1876-1896) The Data of Ethics (1884) The Man Versus the State (1884) References

Sweet, W. (2004). Herbert Spencer. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/spencer/

Johnson, A. (1995). The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.

Major Publications

Birth: Herbert Spencer was born on April 27,

1820.

Death: He died in the age of 83 in December 8,

1903.

What is laissez faire? Definition History of the Word “Laissez-nous faire”

Fundamentals of laissez-faire What is a laissez faire economic policy?

Some Critiques Is Laissez faire good or bad Summary

PART -2

Laissez-faire is the theory or system of government that upholds the autonomous character of the economic order, believing that government should intervene as little as possible in the direction of economic affairs.

It is pretty much, in other words, the economic policy in which government keeps its hands off the economy ( laissez-faire literally means “hands off”

The economy should be freed from the restraints of government interference

What is laissez faire?

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 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."

Explanation

 a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs beyond the minimum necessary for the maintenance of peace and property rights

  the theory or system of government that up

holds theautonomous character of the economic order, believing that government should interfere as little as possible in the direction of economic affairs.

 

Definition

According to historical legend, the phrase stems from a meeting in about 1681 between the powerful French finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert and a group of French businessmen led by a certain M. Le Gendre.

When the eager 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")

History of the Word

he anecdote on the Colbert-Le Gendre meeting was related in a 1751 article in theJournal Oeconomique by the French minister and champion of free trade, René de Voyer, Marquis d'Argenson – which happens to also be the phrase's first known appearance in print.[3] Argenson himself had used the phrase earlier (1736) in his own diaries, in a famous outburst:

(Trans: Let it be, that should be the motto of all public powers, since the world was civilized ... That we cannot grow except by lowering our neighbors is a detestable notion! Only malice and malignity of heart is satisfied with such a principle and our (national) interest is opposed to it. Let it be, for heaven's sake! Let it be!)

Not important1751 article in the Journal Oeconomique

As a system of thought, laissez-faire rests on the following axioms:

1. The individual is the basic unit in society. 2. The individual has a natural right to

freedom. 3. The physical order of nature is a

harmonious and self-regulating system.

Fundamentals of laissez-faire

4. Corporations are creatures of the State and therefore must be watched closely by the citizenry due to their propensity to disrupt the Smithian spontaneous order.

These axioms constitute the basic elements of laissez-faire thought, although another basic and often-disregarded element is that markets should be competitive, a rule that the early advocates of laissez-faire have always emphasized.

Fundamentals of laissez-faire CONTI.

power without government interaction. It supports monopolistic power grubbing

A policiy to allow companies to be ruthless and competetive only by thier own.

and agressive takeovers of opponents, which lead to market being geared towards

big rich companies with little to no small business. There is little government regulation of business. Laissez faire is the economic policy of a free market

economy, this means a lot of competition between companies and very little

government intervention in the economy.

What is a laissez faire economic policy

Over the years, a number of economists have offered critiques of laissez-faire economics.

Adam Smith

John Maynard Keynes

Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek

Critiques

Adam Smith Adam Smith acknowledged deep moral

ambiguities towards the system of capitalism.  Smith had severe misgivings concerning

some aspects of each of the major character-types produced by modern capitalist society: the landlords, the workers, and the capitalists.

 "The landlords' role in the economic process is passive.

Their ability to reap a revenue solely from ownership of land tends to make them indolent and inept, and so they tend to be unable to even look after their own economic interests.“

"

 "The increase in population should increase the demand for food, which should increase rents, which should be economically beneficial to the landlords.

Thus, according to Smith, the landlords should be in favour of policies which contribute to the growth of in the wealth of nations.

Unfortunately, they often are not in favour of these pro-growth policies, because of their own indolent-induced ignorance and intellectual flabbiness.

Adam Smith CONTI

The British economist John Maynard Keynes condemned laissez-faire economic policy on several occasions.

 In The End of Laissez-faire (1926), one of the most famous of his critiques, Keynes argues that the doctrines of laissez-faire are dependent to some extent on improper deductive reasoning, and

Keynes says, the question of whether a market solution or state intervention is better must be determined on a case-by-case basis.[39]

John Maynard Keynes

Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek stated that a freely competitive,

 laissez-faire banking industry tends to be endogenously destabilizing and pro-cyclical.

He stated that the need for central banking control was inescapable

Friedrich Hayek

Laissez faire economics is an arguable theory, but is generally perceived as a

good strategy. It involves relaxed regulations revolved around the belief that freedom and low taxes will encourage spending and therefore a positive shift in the economy.

When people have more money to spend, laissez faire says that the market will improve and the overall quality of life do the same.

Is Laissez faire good or bad

Policy dictating a minimum of governmental interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society.

It was promoted by the PHYSIOCRATs and strongly supported by Adam SMITH and JOHN STUART MILL. Widely accepted in the 19th century,

laissez-faire assumed that the individual who pursues his own desires contributes most successfully to society as a whole.

The function of the state is to maintain order and avoid interfering with individual initiative.

The popularity of the laissez-faire doctrine waned in the late 19th century, when it proved inadequate to deal with the social and economic problems caused by INDUSTRIALIZATION.

Summary