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Quotation from Principles of Political Economy by John Stuart Mill
“Laisser-faire, in short, should be the general practice: every departure from it, unless required by some great good, is a certain evil.”
Principles of Political Economy, Book V, Chapter XI: Of the grounds and limits of the laisser-faire or non-interference principle (Principles of Political Economy, 7th ed. (1871), ed. W. J. Ashley (London: Longmans, Green, 1909), via the Online Library of Liberty)
From the final chapter, on the limits of government action, where Mill sets out a presumption for non-interference before discussing the exceptions he allows.
Citation: "Laisser-faire, in short, should be the general practice: every departure from it, unless required by some great good, is a certain evil." — John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy, Book V, Chapter XI: Of the grounds and limits of the laisser-faire or non-interference principle (Principles of Political Economy, 7th ed. (1871), ed. W. J. Ashley (London: Longmans, Green, 1909), via the Online Library of Liberty). (id mill-principles-of-political-economy-q5)
