English

Noun

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 Feb. 22, Karsten Prager, "The Cooling Of America: Right On Toward a New Black Pluralism," 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 and Charlotte Denny, "Strong euro causes weak smiles among Europe's policy gurus," 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 Aug. 6, Ann Lovejoy, "Gardening: Camp can be a ball for houseplants," 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," 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

• hands off
• laissez faire
• let nature take its course
• let sleeping dogs lie

References

• benign neglect at OneLook Dictionary Search