The Fable of the Bees

A physician with a particular interest in psychological disorders and satirist, the author published versions of his notorious "Fable of the Bees" from 1714 to 1732. Each was a defence and elaboration of his short satirical poem "The Angry Hive, 1705". This masterpiece of eighteenth-century British satire sparked great social controversy by rejecting a positive view of human nature and arguing the necessity of vice as the foundation of an emerging capitalist economy. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.