State intervention versus laissez-faire
What State intervention versus laissez-faire means in History A-Level, as defined for AQA, Pearson Edexcel.
Definitions of State intervention versus laissez-faire
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain State intervention versus laissez-faire in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: Pearson Edexcel
Pressures such as social investigation, recruitment statistics, and the national efficiency debate undermined laissez-faire attitudes and helped justify old-age pensions and national insurance.
The 1833 education grant is identified as a pivotal, albeit modest, shift towards state intervention in social welfare, contrasting it with previous laissez-faire attitudes.
Topics that use State intervention versus laissez-faire
- 1F Industrialisation and the people: Britain, c1783–1885 – Political change and social reform, 1832-1846 (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
- Paper 3, Option 34.2: Poverty, public health and the state in Britain, c1780–1939 - 4 Social and welfare reforms: pressure and action, 1880–1914 (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)
Related terms
- Administrative reform
- Agricultural Protectionism and Free Trade
- Aristocratic paternalism
- Bank Charter Act
- Class Conflict
- Conservative statecraft
- Extra-parliamentary opposition
- Free trade
Using State intervention versus laissez-faire in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
Practise History questions
Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge