benign neglect

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English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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Reportedly coined in 1969 by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, adviser to US President Richard Nixon, who recommended this policy with respect to the issue of US racial strife.

Noun

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benign neglect (uncountable)

  1. (set phrase, often politics or public policy) A policy or strategy of deliberately taking no action concerning an issue, challenging situation, or other problem in the belief that this course will ultimately result in the best outcome possible.
    • 1971 February 22, Karsten Prager, “The Cooling Of America: Right On Toward a New Black Pluralism”, in Time, retrieved 16 July 2014:
      So tranquil, so quiescent seems Black America in the Nixon Era that a presidential partisan could well argue that "benign neglect" has worked.
    • 2003 May 28, Larry Elliott, Charlotte Denny, “Strong euro causes weak smiles among Europe's policy gurus”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 16 July 2014:
      [T]he Japanese have been intervening to hold down the value of the yen, while Washington has been adopting a policy of benign neglect towards the dollar.
    • 2008 August 6, Ann Lovejoy, “Gardening: Camp can be a ball for houseplants”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 16 July 2014:
      I deliberately choose houseplants that thrive on benign neglect.
    • 2014 April 19, Mark Oppenheimer, “Let Them Drink Chocolate”, in New York Times, retrieved 16 July 2014:
      As a parent, I think that it’s time to declare a period of benign neglect when it comes to food.

See also

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References

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