The policy of laissez-faire received strong support in classical economics as it developed in Great Britain under the influence of the philosopher and economist Adam Smith.
Laissez-faire thinkers supported the idea of basically leaving other peoples problems alone. So back in the 1800's when nations were going in to debt and were running out of sources such as jobs, food, and other necessities, their government basically said "hands off", meaning they did nothing to help the situation, they didn't worry about the problems their nation faced.
