{"product_id":"book-jqlc","title":"The Fable of the Bees","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Fable of the Bees\u003c\/em\u003e—a satirical poem, prose discussion, three essays, and six\u003cbr\u003edialogues completed in 1729—exposes human vices but defends them as a\u003cbr\u003enecessity within a wealthy society.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMandeville’s bees thrive until they start living by honesty and virtue; then they are impoverished. Mandeville did not play by the rules: he satirized the sins of society but also ridiculed the widespread hypocrisy of deploring these sins while reaping their benefits. He and his work\u003cbr\u003ewere attacked for the rest of the century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 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\u003cbr\u003eto a poor one; Mandeville simply analyses, with incorrigible playfulness, the status quo as he sees it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fascination of his arguments and the ensuing controversy have caught and influenced philosophers and thinkers ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIncludes Mandeville’s complete text (both Parts 1 and 2), in a multi-voice recording headed by the outstanding David Timson.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Naxos","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49372911206704,"sku":"BDjqlc","price":54.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/643250-jqlc-Square.jpg?v=1734732014","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-jqlc","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}