guiding question how do the philosophies, as we have seen, believed that newton’s methods could be used to…

guiding question how do the philosophies, as we have seen, believed that newton’s methods could be used to discover the natural laws underlying all areas of human life. this led to what we would call the social sciences—areas such as economics and political science. the physiocrats and scottish philosopher adam smith have been viewed as the founders of the modern social science of economics. the physiocrats, a french group, were interested in identifying the natural economic laws that governed human society. they maintained that if individuals were free to pursue their own economic self - interest, all society would benefit. the state, then, should not interrupt the free play of natural economic forces by imposing regulations on the economy. instead, the state should leave the economy alone. this doctrine became known by its french name, laissez - faire (leh·say·fehr), meaning “to let (people do) (what they want).” the best statement of laissez - faire was made in 1776 by adam smith in his famous work, the wealth of nations. like the physiocrats, smith believed that the state should not interfere in economic matters. indeed, smith limited government only three basic roles. first, it should protect society from invasion (the function of the army). second, the government should protect citizens from injustice (the function of the police). and finally, it should keep up certain public works that private individuals alone could not afford—roads and canals, for example—but which are necessary for social interaction and trade. reading progress check summarizing what roles did adam smith believe the government should fulfill?

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