Should our economy be run by a doctrine that was made popular by a group of French writers called physiocrats in the mid-1700s? This doctrine is called laissez-faire and it literally means to let or allow to do(The Family Education Network). It is a theory of economic policy which states that government generally should not interfere with decisions made in an open competitive market. These decisions include policies such as setting prices and wages. According to the doctrine of laissez-faire, workers are most productive and a nation's economy functions most efficiently when people can pursue their own economic interest freely. The economy of the United States is no where close to being a laissez-faire system. In fact, government spending and intervention in the economic sector has ballooned. According to the Federal Money Retriever, in 1998 alone, the government spent over $37,733,526,000 in agricultural commodities, loans, marketing, and stabilization. The role of government has grown to a point where the benefits of government intervention are far outweighed by the negative effects on the economy as a whole.

One of the major areas in which the government intervenes is

Price-fixing is a policy designed to help the "poor" and "needy" in the economy. In this policy, the price of a product is "fixed," or set at a level below the equilibrium point, so as to allow each consumer the ability to afford it. To be able to pull this off, the government must provide the producers with help in the form of subsidies in order for the producers to maintain the supply. This method is very expensive, and there are many cheaper alternative ways to help the "poor." Cash allowances to the needy would be a much cheaper way than trying to fix prices (Robbins, 112).

in the agricultural sector of the economy. The government has three ways it can intervene and help its producers. These ways include price policies, direct payments, and input policies. Price policies have the largest effect on producers. Tariffs, quotas, and taxes are just a few examples of price policies. While these policies bring revenue into the government, in the end they hurt consumers. Each of these policies raise the prices of both imported and native goods. They are designed to help stabilize prices and give the native producers a chance to compete with foreign goods. Under the doctrine of laissez-faire, the government would not interfere with prices and the native producers would be forced to lower their prices, giving the nation's citizens a better deal in the market.

Wage-and-price controls are another way government can intervene in the business sector of the economy. Of course, these controls never fully work It is impossible to put price restrictions on every product and service that exists in an economy. "The result is that producers will produce fewer of those products that are restricted, thus people will have more money available for other products, which in turns will cause the prices of the non-restricted products to rise faster than normal" (Ringer, 167). High wage levels are a compilation of minimum-wage laws and laws which force employers to negotiate with unions. By simple laws of supply and demand, if wages are forced up, businesses hire less people, thus increasing the unemployment level. Once again, government intervention has hurt those whom it was designed to protect.

Small and big businesses are guilty of inviting government intervention in the free market. Th

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Approximate Word count = 1559
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)