aiPod – 007
007 – aiPod – The “Private Vices, Public Virtues” or “Self interest”
Duration: 23:49min
Audience: historical, political awareness about economic & ethical tech and AI
Story:
These sources discuss Dany-Robert Dufour’s critique of modern society, tracing its roots to Mandeville’s concept that private vices can yield public benefits. Dufour argues that while Adam Smith softened this idea into “self-love,” figures like Hayek and the rise of neoliberalism have led to a more aggressive “screw your neighbor” mentality, fueled by a transformed, “ferocious” superego and amplified by social media. He links this to social Darwinism, creating a predatory system where a few “perverts” exploit many “neurotics,” potentially leading to a bleak, post-human future exacerbated by ecological crises and dangerous geoengineering. Ultimately, Dufour suggests that overcoming this requires a return to critical thinking and rebuilding the individual and community through a revitalized form of education focused on holistic development and ethical engagement.
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Introduction to the Origins of Neo-liberalism
The Philosophical Heritage of Neo-liberalism
The moral philosophy underpinning neo-liberal economics can be traced to the Anglo-Dutch philosopher and ‘Healer of the Soul’ (a predecessor to the modern psychiatrist) Bernard de Mandeville (1670-1733). His philosophical tenets were subsequently absorbed and developed by two of history’s most influential economists: Adam Smith (1723-1770) and Friedrich Hayek (1899-1992). Together, their works have formed the intellectual foundation of today’s individualistic society and global capitalist economic system, inadvertently contributing to what many perceive as the subordination of human welfare to the pursuit of extraordinary profit that characterises our contemporary era – at the cost of the ‘living’.
Bernard de Mandeville (1670-1733)
Anglo-Dutch philosopher, political economist, satirist, writer and physician. Born in Rotterdam (Netherlands), he lived most of his life in England and used English for most of his published works. Being a ‘doctor of the soul’ about 200 years before the birth of Freud’s psychoanalysis, he became famous for The Fable of the Bees where he developed his vision of “Private Vices, Public Virtues”.
His writings and economical philosophy avant-la-lettre are translated and relayed by Adam Smith (1723-1770), the Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Smith is seen by some as the “father of economics” or the “father of capitalism“.
Adam Smith (1723-1770)
Among works from Smith: he wrote two classic works, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter, often abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work that treats economics as a comprehensive system and an academic discipline. Smith refuses to explain the distribution of wealth and power in terms of God’s will and instead appeals to natural, political, social, economic, legal, environmental and technological factors and the interactions among them. Among other economic theories, the work introduced Smith’s idea of absolute advantage.
Friedrich von Hayek (1899-1992)
Austrian-born British academic who contributed to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Gunnar Myrdal for work on money and economic fluctuations, and the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena. His account of how prices communicate information is widely regarded as an important contribution to economics that led to him receiving the prize. He was a major contributor to the Austrian school of economics.
Dany-Robert Dufour (born in 1947) is a French philosopher, professor of educational sciences at the university Paris-VIII. He teaches regularly abroad, particularly in Latin America. His main focus is symbolic processes (specially désymbolisation) with relevance to language philosophy, political philosophy and psychoanalysis. He is a frequent participant in cooperative artistic activities with music, literature or theatre.
A Conversation, transposed into a AI diaologue about the ideas and work of philosopher and psychoanalyst Dany-Robert Dufour.
Duration: 23:49min
Audience: societal, political awareness
Audio only (English)
Other interviews (in French)
VIVRE DANS UNE SOCIÉTÉ DE PERVERS – Entretien avec Dany-Robert Dufour – 6 Jan 2025