Week 4 Blogpost – David
Warning: Undefined variable $comments in /home/idemborg/paigemorgan.net/teaching/engl200d/wp-content/themes/inove/single.php on line 18
Leave a comment Go to comments
Can a society flourish if it is comprised of those who do not work for their own benefits?
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.
David,
I think this is an important point to make. You are arguing that some selfish desires are needed in order for a society/economy to thrive while honesty also keeps the gears lubricated. Selfish desires do not necessarily lead to dishonesty. I like your use of quotations from “The Grumbling Hive”. The solid evidence by Mandeville really supports your case. I am unsure about what you mean by “simplicity” in the last sentence of your first paragraph. This is implying that a greedy society is complex? I like the first sentence of your second paragraph, especially that “people will always be working their hardest to fulfill their own desires”. I think this is your key point. How specifically can you see it benefiting us today? From the reading? You may be able to take your ideas further by comparing Mandeville with Smith or Locke.
David: really nice opening question and focus throughout. Thomas’ question about simplicity in his comment is useful feedback, because it helps to highlight an assumption that Mandeville is making: that honesty = simplicity, and naturally leads to austerity. This is a familiar belief, of course — it shows up in lots of places besides Mandeville. But it’s a strange one, too: it’s very cynical in it’s view of art and artists, because it implies that artists are only working for their own benefit, and that people who support art (of all sorts) are doing so exclusively for their own benefit. And that seems strange, because art is often presented as benefiting many. So: why is it that art is assumed to be greedy? And why is that Mandeville seems to assume that honest people won’t like art?