The New Fable of the Bees; or, Private Virtues, Public Detriments

Riffing on Bernard Mandeville's famous “fable of the bees,” which defends commercial society as a force for securing the public benefit, this essay shows how the state of actual bees casts doubt on the ability of markets to secure the common good, and it identifies the response by an overlooked set of institutions. Bees illustrate the problems associated with ecosystem services, frequently touted as potential “nature-based solutions” to the climate crisis: Although ecosystems maintain crucial planetary functions, market actors typically have little incentive to preserve them. States, meanwhile, have struggled to correct “market failures.” In light of these challenges, the “third sector” of private, not-for-profit institutions has played an increasingly significant role in efforts to preserve ecosystems and their services. Philanthropic foundations in particular are said to be “hyperagents” unconstrained by either market discipline or public accountability, and therefore able to solve “super wicked” ecological problems that market and state actors cannot. The essay investigates these claims and their consequences, with an emphasis on two angles. First, it builds on extant normative critiques of the unaccountable power of foundations, elaborating their significance for the field of climate politics. Second, it situates the analysis of philanthropy more firmly within capitalism, and thereby identifies an underrecognized role for foundations: that of derisking partner for private capital. The essay concludes that the view of foundations as hyperagents is largely a fantasy—one that nevertheless points to important developments in both climate politics and capitalism.