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I do not think there is anything obscure to the use of "laisser faire" instead of "laissez
faire". The French themselves have used it frequently for a long time.
 
>From my bookshelf I have taken a book where I thought I would certainly find the term:
Frédéric Bastiat's *Oeuvres Choisies* 4th ed. (Paris, Guillaumin, 1860). On p. 22 I read:
"En un mot, faut-il voir dans cette maxime: *Laisser faire, laisser passer*, la formule
absolue de l'économie politique?"
 
On the origins of the use of the term, you might consult: 
 
Johann H. Bast, "Boisguilbert et le mercantilisme", in: *Pierre de Boisguilbert ou La
Naissance de l'Economie Politique*, Paris, INED, 1966, Vol. I, pp. 27-40, especially the
section entitled "Le 'laisser faire' de Boisguilbert" (pp. 35-36).
 
Guido Erreygers 
 
 
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