The Fable of the Bees – a satirical poem, prose discussion, three essays and six
dialogues completed in 1729 – exposes human vices but defends them as a
necessity within a wealthy society. Mandeville’s bees thrive until they start living
by honesty and virtue… then they are impoverished. Mandeville did not play
by the rules: he satirised the sins of society but also ridiculed the widespread
hypocrisy of deploring these sins whilst reaping their benefits. He and his work
were attacked for the rest of the century. The wicked bees’ comeuppance is
not for their vices – society’s accepted moral code – but, instead, for the folly
of denying them. There is no judgement on whether a rich society is superior
to a poor one; Mandeville simply analyses, with incorrigible playfulness, the
status quo as he sees it. The fascination of his arguments and the ensuing
controversy have caught and influenced philosophers and thinkers ever since.
Includes Mandeville’s complete text (both Parts 1 and 2), in a multi-voice
recording headed by the outstanding David Timson.
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