Restraining man's authoritarian instincts is an arduous task for a political leader. Socialists gripe about working class authoritarianism, yet they are the control culprits. In economic affairs, the political leader must actively fight mercantilism. Laissez-faire policies that create a productive environment for business expansion are not defensive. Conservative social policy advocates government coercion to enforce a society's moral values, going well beyond 'Lockean liberalism'.
By themselves they are: if a political entity, e.g. the Soviet Union wants to have planned economy and GULAG system inside its perimeter, laissez-faire lets them do that. Luckily, there are other factors, such as strategic planning and Christian ethics, that mitigated the problem during the Cold War.