The fable of the bees

A physician with a particular interest in psychological disorders and satirist, Mandeville published versions of his notoriousFable of the Beesfrom 1714 to 1732. Each was a defence and elaboration of his short satirical poemThe Angry Hive, 1705. The version of theFableof 1723 and 1732 are the fullest defences of his early paradox that social benefit is the unintended consequence of personal vice. It is an argument that is generally held to lie behind Adam Smith's doctrine of the 'hidden hand' of economic development.