Answer: They believed they could be most productive without government rules and regulation.
The term "laissez-faire," which translates roughly as "let do" is the name of an economic system in which participants are let to do what the market requires with little or no government interference. This means that the market supply and demand is allowed to determine all rules that participants will be ruled by.
Entrepreneurs often defend the adoption of laissez-faire economics based on productivity and liberty. They argue that the government should not limit the way they operate or limit their production, as it would be unproductive, bad for the economy, and contradictory to ideas of personal liberty. On the other hand, critics argue that these type of policies generate enormous inequalities and are morally ambiguous.