12 Facts About Bernard Mandeville

Bernard Mandeville, or Bernard de Mandeville, was an Anglo-Dutch philosopher, political economist, satirist, writer and physician.

Bernard Mandeville became famous for The Fable of the Bees.

Bernard Mandeville moved to England to learn the language, and succeeded so remarkably that many refused to believe he was a foreigner.

In 1705, Bernard Mandeville published a poem under the title The Grumbling Hive, or Knaves Turn'd Honest.

Bernard Mandeville disagreed with the idea that education adds virtue because he did not believe that evil desires existed only in the poor, but rather he saw the educated and wealthy as much more crafty.

Bernard Mandeville believed that educating the poor increased their desires for material things, defeating the purpose of the school and making it more difficult to provide for them.

Bernard Mandeville's philosophy gave great offence at the time, and has always been stigmatised as false, cynical and degrading.

Bernard Mandeville concluded that vice, at variance with the "Christian virtues" of his time, was a necessary condition for economic prosperity.

Bernard Mandeville's viewpoint is more severe when juxtaposed to Adam Smith's.

Essentially, Bernard Mandeville called for politicians to ensure that the passions of man would result in a public benefit.

Bernard Mandeville was an early describer of the division of labour, and Adam Smith makes use of some of his examples.

Bernard Mandeville was a lifelong vegetarian who embraced Gassendi's view that non-human animals are sentient.