Mandeville’s Libertin Philosophy: Evidence from Popular Culture

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Mandeville’s Libertin Philosophy: Evidence from Popular Culture
In his book “The Fable of the Bee,” Bernard Mandeville coined the famous phrase “Private Vices, Publick Benefits,” which means that vices are beneficial for society as society run and prosper through people’s private vices. He further claimed that many so-called virtues are vices in reality as they are based on self-interest. Though his theory has been a subject of intense criticism and refuted by moralists, human social life provides ample ground to validate his argument. One such example is the worldwide fame of the TV show “Money Heist” since this show projects and glorifies the philosophy of practical wisdom. This philosophy justifies vices committed in the name of the resistance and presents them as heroic acts of wisdom and valor; more importantly, the approval of this philosophy from the masses indicates that people admire and internalize vice for the individual public benefits. This backdrop necessitates a sound elaboration of the practicality of Mandeville’s libertine philosophy based on one of the most famous examples from the popular culture, and it will be done in the subsequent paragraphs.
In his poem “The Grumbling Hive: or, Knaves Turn’d Honest,” Mandeville uses an analogy of a beehive to propound how vices work for the betterment of human society. The poem describes a hive as a flourishing and prospering society since all the bees practice their private vices for the practical good of the “bee society.” The following lines of the poem elaborate this state: “Thus every Part was full of Vice, Yet the whole Mass a Paradice” (Mandeville 9). Commenting on the downfall of the hive on the introduction of “virtuous bees,” he says, “Then leave Complaints: Fools only strive To make a Great an honest Hive.” (Mandeville 16). These aspects of his work expound a significant part of his philosophy of practical wisdom that vices are the inherent part of human nature. Every act of private vices such as theft or avarice gives rise to a general public good. For instance, if there were no thieves, the police, the courts, and other related institutions would not have existed.
One can quote Mandeville’s illustration in this regard to justify this ideology. He gives the example of pride to explain his point of view and says that pride is generally considered a vice; however, he maintains that other necessary industries such as the fashion industry maintain that without pride. Thus, these points clarify his stance on the notion of the significance of private for the general public good. Indeed, this proposition seems more natural and logical as it is based on ground realities and observation of the practical working of human societies.
Furthermore, in his essay “An Essay on Charity and Charity-Schools” added in the 1723 edition, he makes an even more controversial proposition and proposes that all the apparent acts of virtue are based on a person’s interest and for the same reason, they are nothing more than vices in disguise. For instance, if a person builds a beautiful and luxurious house ...