Mandeville Paradox
The Mandeville Paradox is named after the Anglo-Dutch social theorist Bernard Mandeville (1670–1733). According to Mandeville, virtuous behavior by individuals en masse can lead to the decline of their community, while impulsive, vicious, and antiquated behavior can benefit the community as a whole. This already formulated proverbially in the subtitle of his most famous work, The Fable of the Bees (the bee fable ), "Private Vices, Public Benefits" (in German: "Private vices, public benefits").
In The Fable of the Bees , he described a utopia in which all people suddenly developed a high degree of self-control, consideration and an orientation towards the common good . He shows how the economic and social system collapse, so that poverty, military weakness and a decline in living standards are the result.
In his theory of ethical feelings, the philosopher and economist Adam Smith rejected Mandeville's theory because, in his opinion, it makes no distinction between “vain” and “honorable” actions.