Political Theory

Liberty and Responsibility in the Work of Bernard Mandeville

ABSTRACT

Mandeville became famous, or infamous, for his view that vice is a natural and fundamental part of wealth creation, even to the exclusion of moral virtue. This colloquium examined the history, context, substance, content, and impact of Mandeville's writing in the eighteenth century.

READING LIST

From Liberty Fund

Essays on Philosophical Subjects

by By Adam Smith
Edited by W. P. D. Wightman and J. C. Bryce

Reflecting Adam Smith’s wide learning and varied interests, these essays shed considerable light on his place in the Scottish Enlightenment. Included are histories of astronomy, ancient logic, and ancient physics; essays on the “imitative” arts and the affinity between music, dancing, and poetry; and a critical review of Samuel Johnson’s…

/ Learn More

Additional Readings

Elmslie, Bruce. “Publick Stews and the genesis of public economics.” Oxford Economic Papers 68, no. 1 (September 2015): 1-15.

Mandeville, Bernard. Bernard Mandeville’s "A Modest Defence of Publick Stews". Edited by Irwin Primer. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

Mandeville, Bernard. The Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices, Publick Benefits, Volume I. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc., 1988.

Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of. Select sermons of Dr. Whichcot. London: Awnsham and John Churchill, 1698.

Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of. The Life, Unpublished Letters, and Philosophical Regimen of Anthony, Earl of Shaftesbury. Edited by Benjamin Rand. London: Swan Sonnenschein and Co, 1900.

Smith, Adam. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Indianapolis: LibertyClassics, 1976.

Trenchard, John and Thomas Gordon. Cato’s Letters. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc., 1995.