----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- 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 ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]