Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Dissent in Lochner v. New York

Glossary

• Herbert Spencer English social theorist and originator of the expression “survival of the fittest,” who, in his 1851 book Social Statics, predicted that humanity would evolve sufficiently so that the need for a state would wither away (1820–1903)
• laissez faire a French expression meaning “to leave alone,” often used to refer to an economic system with minimal regulation or government interference in free markets
• shibboleth a widely held belief, particularly among members of a political group or sect
• Sunday laws laws prohibiting work or commerce on Sunday
• usury laws laws against charging excessive interest on loans