THE END OF LAISSEZ-FAIRE

freedom always tend to promote the general in-terest at the same time! Our philosophical diffi-culties are resolved—at least for the practicalman, who can then concentrate his efforts onsecuring the necessary conditions of freedom.To the philosophical doctrine that Govern-ment has no right to interfere, and the divinemiracle that it has no need to interfere, there isadded a scientific proof that its interference isinexpedient. This is the third current ofthought, just discoverable in Adam Smith ,who was ready in the main to allow the publicgood to rest on “the natural effort of everyindividual to better his own condition,” butnot fully and self-consciously developed untilthe nineteenth century begins. The principleof laissez-faire had arrived to harmoniseIndividualism and Socialism, and to make atone Hume’ s Egoism with the Greatest Goodof the Greatest Number. The politicalphilosopher could retire in favour of thebusiness man—for the latter could attain thephilosopher’s summurn bonum by just pursuinghis own private profit.

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