This kind of society would crumble as presented in “The Grumbling Hive” by Mandeville. A good society needs people who are working to benefit themselves, so that competition may bring about development. Mandeville says that “fraud, luxury and pride must live” meaning that these criteria are needed in a thriving society. With only honesty, there will be no need for competition and without competition there will be no need for businesses or growth. People will be content with what they have and only take what they need. This kind of society is weak and vulnerable, it is too simple. Simple meaning that each person need not specify in anything in particular and each bee needs only to think about the necessities of life rather than the future outcome of the hive. This leads to the collapse of their hive.

Ambition and greed will fuel innovation and build a strong society because the people will always be working their hardest to fulfill their own desires. When people are working to their fullest abilities, then their society will continue to evolve and that is why Mandeville says that “so Vice is beneficial found” and that Vice includes all things not pure and honest. There needs to be a balance between exploitation and honesty. In the modern society greed for power, prestige and property makes it possible for faster computers, cures for diseases and efficiency in everyday life. Even though there is corruption, society will not fall. To answer the question above, in order for a society to flourish there is a need for people who work for their own desires because it takes motivation to make a society thrive. Honesty and Vice are just a few pillars that hold up our fragile society. Even to this day, people are still doing things to benefit themselves and our society has benefited from it.

However, having a meritocracy may be the downfall of your business and economy. If one person fails in their endeavor to make a business, he or she may feel that they deserved to fail because in a meritocracy, those who fail deserve to be at the bottom. The hope that ones hard work will bring them just rewards keeps the worker going but that may just be an empty promise. Defoe may emphasize the importance of merit but there is always two sides of the story. To Defoe, merit is your prestige, it brings about success and Button agrees that merit is a positive aspect of economics, however with merit comes envy and envy brings on conflicts. Just know that merit is definitely important in trade and that it has bigger implications than just in the business world.

This is my rough draft that doesn’t have any quotes because I am just putting my ideas down. It would be great if people could give me feedback on my ideas.

Goldfinger represents the gold standard where currency is backed and can be freely converted into gold. It is a system where there is a limited amount of money circulating because it is restricted to the amount of gold in reserve. What is good about a gold standard is that prices will be stable and there is a low chance of inflation. Government would also have less power to inflate prices out of hand.

The weakness of goldfinger or “gold” is that there is only a limited supply of it therefore it becomes hard to keep a gold standard when the population is growing exponentially. Stimulating the economy is very hard when you can only make more money to the rate at which gold is being mined. A gold standard benefits savers and makes life harder for people in debt.

This kind of economy will benefit those who save because they will have an excess of gold to use and can keep increasing their wealth by lending. Those who are in debt will find it hard because they will have to focus their efforts on less spending and paying off their debts.

I plan to use Adam Smith where he talks about the invisible hand and the interaction between the rich and poor. Also I plan to use some excerpts from Marx that include the division of labor or existence.

Marx is trying to say that your interactions with the environment and life have a big effect on your consciousness. Your place in society, your idea and ideals all interact with one another and make up this entity of consciousness. How you interact with people and live your life make up your consciousness. As long as there are people, there will be interactions and social involvement which will shape your outlook. These experiences that you have will help you make a kind of tool to make sense of what life is. People think that consciousness comes to you when you are born, but Marx says that consciousness has to do with society. Consciousness is integrated into society and is part of your everyday life. It is developed from opinions, interactions, the choices that you make and the goals you set.

An example would be the interactions with your friends and family that shaped how you see the world. Knowledge gained through those experience and even school can develop your consciousness further. Society has a great effect on your everyday life therefore, consciousness is a social product, it comes from others not just yourself. This is important because if consciousness is a social product we can relate it to concrete ideas that we can understand rather than relying on the idea that consciousness is just there and isn’t influenced by practical or material things.

MP1-Rough Draft

From Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, chapter IV and V,  I want to utilize the many forms that money takes on through time to show how money can get complicated to the point that it becomes hard to use. It is rich with information on value and form and how money came to exist. Also there is a good example of how people used to procure their goods by selling their cattle or sheep that I would like to point into y paper to support my answer. I want to get through how difficult categorizing money is.

Defoe’s On Credit provides insight on how money can be substituted while Defoe’s On Trade provides an example of bartering. Credit is another form of money that we use today and how it can be used as a substitute for money will be important. Defoe’s On Trade is to provide support to how objects you trade is a sort of medium of exchange like money. Money is not limited to paper or coins and that is why money is hard to use.

My main point is that money is only a medium of exchange; it comes in many forms and changes with the times. This instability in form makes it a challenge for people to use.

This kind of society would crumble as presented in “The Grumbling Hive” by Mandeville. A good society needs people who are working to benefit themselves, and this in turn brings about development. Mandeville says that “fraud, luxury and pride must live” therefore he is saying that these are necessities for society. With only honesty, there will be no need for competition and without competition there will be no need for businesses or growth. People will be content with what they have and only get what they need. This kind of society is weak and when observed in the grumbling hive, it collapses due to its simplicity.

Ambition and greed will fuel innovation and thus build a strong society because the people will always be working their hardest to fulfill their own desires. When people are working to their fullest abilities, then their society will continue to evolve and that is why Mandeville says that “so Vice is beneficial found” and that Vice includes all things not pure and honest. However there is still a need for honesty and goodness for a thriving society or else there would be no trust. To answer the question above, in order for a society to flourish there is a need for people who work for their own benefits and desires to the point where there is progress. Honesty and Vice are just a few pillars that hold up our fragile society. Even to this day, people are still doing things to benefit themselves and our society has benefited from it.

1. Credit

2. Trade

Credit can be good or bad. It can be your reputation, a form of money, a savior, or a bother. In Defoe, credit comes in all these forms. Credit to Defoe is a sort entity that can bring with it a solution to the economic problem, but with it comes internal strife. This is an important word because it ties in with his whole text, whether it is about the economy, the people, or even trade. It relates to all of them. Credit now has a close meaning to that which is said in Defoe’s text. It can be used as a placeholder for money, and can help or ruin a persons life. It is used differently now in a way but it is still an entity that can come or go.

Trade to Defoe, is a common occurrence that he supports. It is what people do to make a living. However, Defoe does not talk about trade as a transaction in this text but what is needed in order to make trade possible and create trade. He uses trade to inform those that plan to go into this business what they should consider and some of the better ways to create trade for oneself. He is trying to move people towards the idea that credit and business comes to those who work hard at it rather than making a front. What better way to explain this but through trade, which is a common ground for those in his time. The meaning of trade to Defoe is similar to the one we have today. It is still a transaction between people who wish to acquire different things.

I chose these words not because they are in the title of the readings but because they hold a lot of meaning behind them. They represent so much and have a huge effect on peoples lives. Without trade to begin with, there would be no need for credit because there is no need for any transactions. Trade would not get as efficient and organized as it is now if it weren’t for credit as well. It make for a speedy transaction and can last a lifetime. Understanding what credit and trade is will be important for reading this text because it is the concept for which this text was written upon.