The Tao of Laissez-Faire

Ken McCormick

Eastern Economic Journal, 1999, vol. 25, issue 3, 331-341

Abstract: The existence of the doctrine of laissez faire in Taoist philosophy is mentioned only briefly in the economics literature, and no attempt has been made in it to explain why the Taoists advocate laissez faire. This paper examines Taoist philosophy in order to answer this question, and shows that the vision of a spontaneous and harmonious natural order that lies at the heart of Taoist thought is conceptually very close to the natural order envisioned by classical economics. The doctrine of laissez faire thus has an Eastern as well as a Western philosophical foundation.

JEL-codes: B19 B29 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:25:y:1999:i:3:p:331-341

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