Business is one thing, Ethics is Another: Revisiting Bernard Mandeville’s The Fable of the Bees

Recent corporate scandals raise an old question anew: is capitalism fundamentally infected by immorality? A now almost forgotten answer to this question was advanced at the dawn of capitalism, an answer that students of business ethics would find profit in considering. In the early eighteenth centur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Business ethics quarterly 2005-04, Vol.15 (2), p.179-203
Main Author: Bragues, George
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business ethics
Business studies
Capitalism
Fables
Folklore
Individual behaviour
Literary criticism
Mandeville, Bernard
Mandeville, Bernard (1670-1733)
Market structure
Morality
Passion
Pride
Public sphere
Self-perception
Selfishness
Social ethics
Social norms
Studies
Virtue
Virtue ethics
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Summary:Recent corporate scandals raise an old question anew: is capitalism fundamentally infected by immorality? A now almost forgotten answer to this question was advanced at the dawn of capitalism, an answer that students of business ethics would find profit in considering. In the early eighteenth century, Bernard Mandeville authored The Fable of the Bees, which became notorious in its day for arguing that capitalism created wealth while necessarily relying on vicious impulses. The fundamental dilemma is that morality requires self-denial while capitalism runs on self-interest. As such, Mandeville claims that business and ethics are essentially separate. While this would appear to align him with skeptics of business ethics, Mandeville does suggest a role for moral theorists in dealing with the challenges of commercial societies. The Mandevillean business ethicist proceeds by separating the public and private spheres. In the former, where government policy toward business is at issue, the Mandevillean ethicist applies a market-friendly utilitarianism. In the latter, where individual conduct is at issue, the Mandevillean gently articulates a market-critical ethic predicated on self-restraint.
ISSN:1052-150X
2153-3326
DOI:10.5840/beq200515213