Lake Forest College Lake Forest College Publications All-College Writing Contest 5-1-1984 “The aF ble of the Bees:” An Investigation of its Relationship to the Development of Economic Thought Dirk Shelley Lake Forest College Follow this and additional works at: http://publications.lakeforest.edu/allcollege_writing_contest Part of the Economic History Commons Recommended Citation Shelley, Dirk, "“The aF ble of the Bees:” An Investigation of its Relationship to the Development of Economic Thought" (1984). All- College Writing Contest. http://publications.lakeforest.edu/allcollege_writing_contest/26 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Lake Forest College Publications. It has been accepted for inclusion in All-College Writing Contest by an authorized administrator of Lake Forest College Publications. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE FABLE OF THE BEES An investigation of its relationship to the development of economic thought by Dirk Shelley Throughout history bees have been considered as hard working, industrious, and productive. Our speech is filled with such phrases as "busy as a bee" and "be a do bee" which show our association of bees with labor. Bees naturally fall into categories of workers and drones which, like humans, comprise the majority of the population. Mandeville uses the story of the bees to convey his ideas and economic theories. By comparing the beehive to the England of his day, Mandeville can lash out at the follies of his countrymen without directly accusing anyone. Bernard de Mandeville in his poem, "The Grumbling Hive," describes a corrupt yet flourishing beehive. He shows how the economic quality of life in the beehive is dependent on the vices and "least desirable qualities" of its inhabitants.