what does laissez faire mean literally 
laissez faire in french literally means let you do legend has it that the origins of the phrase laissez faire in an economic context came from a 1681 meeting between the french finance minister jean baptise colbert and a businessman named le gendre as the story goes colbert asked le gendre how best the government could help commerce to which le gendre replied laissez nous faire meaning let us do the physiocrats popularized the phrase using it to name their core economic doctrine 5