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Not that these remarks will serve to move the conversation to some meaningful conclusion,
but both sets of uses are also common in the non-economics literature.
 
Examples in History: G. Kolko used the two word laisser faire, while E. Breisach used the
laisser-faire; in the z-camp, the Handlins used laissez faire, and D.A. Walker laissez-
faire. I haven't read them very recently, but during a recent read for another project, I
noticed that Kolko is consistent in his choice of this spelling throughout his 1960s and
1970s texts. I had to add it to my spell checking program to keep the quotes to the
original.
 
As to the translations, a translation is a change in the symbolic representation of an
idea into a meaningful, recognizable form. If we take the opposite direction in our
efforts (English to French rather than F-E), then we might assign meaning to the symbolic
choice of 'z' or 'r'. The imperative form, using the z, might be apropos if someone is
making a position statement. The infinitive, using the r, has multiple possible meanings
in English, and would permit someone to hedge their position.  As such, they could have ex
poste coverage of their backside by asserting that they were either stating be permitted
to do, or allow for continued performance of a task, or permit the completion of necessary
tasks, or leave to do, among other rewrites. Faire can also be interpreted as the
completion of a necessary task in addition to the to do meaning, this is more commonly
expressed in the phrase il faut que..., but combined with the presence of the earlier verb
(in either the infinitive or imperative), there is no clause to follow the expression so
the il...que would be dropped. Not a common usage I admit, but I recall suffering through
this sentence form while being tortured in an existential literature course at Haute
Bretagne. If someone remembers their Camus or Sartre (in French), they might provide the
particulars. I was only too happy to have placed my copies of most of that reading list
into a long-lost moving box.
 
Speaking of existentialism, I don't suppose one might argue that the internet is a
location and could be capitalized?  This may stem from the vernacular that has developed
around the world-wide-web. People "go on-line", "are connected to the web", "have access",
"visit sites and chat rooms" among other things.  As painful as this may be to the
linguists, let us count ourselves fortunate that G.W Bush is not writing the next
Department of Education Language Arts Guidelines, or our wing may take dreams.
 
Kirk Johnson 
 
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