The Fable of the Bees

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.