INTERVENTION ET LAISSER-FAIRE CHEZ TURGOT (Le rôle de l'État selon le droit naturel)

Historians of ideas have frequently misunderstood the founders of classical liberalism. They often write that authors like Adam Smith or Turgot are inconsistent in their adherence to a supposed “principle of non-intervention” by Government, since they propose many types of public intervention in the economy. The truth is that none of the great economists who founded classical liberalism have ever professed such an absurd principle as that of “non-intervention”. They have, however, vigorously defended other principles, such as the “protection of natural rights” and the “promotion of general happiness”, two principles which clearly require that the Government intervene in some cases and abstain in others