Introduction
Prof.dr. Steven W.J. Lamberts, president Bernard Mandeville Foundation, rector magnificus EUR
Mrs. Del Ponte, ladies and gentlemen,
Welcome to Erasmus University Rotterdam
Bernard de Mandeville was a philosopher living in the city of Rotterdam in the early 18th century. After becoming a physician practicing in this city he moved after a quarrel with our local police chief to London. In London he wrote his most famous book: The Fable of the Bees, or “private vices made public benefits”.
This fable presents a cautionary tale of how a prosperous commercial society like London and Amsterdam were at that time, could be brought to its knees by a sudden conversion of its citizens to “honesty”. Mandeville states that the ultimate motive force behind society is pure self-interest.
This self-interest, however, does not automatically lead to a state of terror. By converting survival instincts like “eat or be eaten” into less socially destructive vices like envy and avarice, people become very active, making themselves socially useful, helping thereby to create wealth and prosperity.
Thus, private vices become public benefits. Selfishness thus works to the general good and to societal progress.
This ironic paradox, developed and presented by this Rotterdam physician, philosopher, writer and poet has been the basis for the initiative by Erasmus University Rotterdam to start in 1988 a cycle of Mandeville lectures.
As a scientific institution the University grants as a token of esteem the doctorate honoris causa, emphasizing the academic function of the University. We have, however, previously decided that we award the doctorate honoris causa only on the basis of pure scientific achievements.
This University wants, however, also to honour persons on the basis of their great service to society. Therefore we initiated in 1988 together with the so-called Club Rotterdam, a club representing the Rotterdam business community, the Foundation Bernard Mandeville that honours a person from within or outside The Netherlands that greatly contributed to society.
In the past years 10 persons have delivered in this hall the Mandeville lecture. I will not mention every speaker by name.
However, I would like to refer to a few of these lecturers in order to demonstrate how different these successive Laureates have handled the essence of Mandeville’s philosophy that a society of bees can only flourish and be successful as long as egoism, ambition and vanity govern, and that such a society will disintegrate once its citizens suddenly turn to virtue and unselfishness.
Dr. Kouchner emphasized how his foundation “Doctors without Borders” can change a society into a better one by directly targeting and supporting the ill, the weak and the defenceless. Mr. Lubbers emphasized the success of the United Nations Refugee Organization which is of a pure humane character without political meaning.
Dr. Max van der Stoel acknowledged that egoism has always been an important engine for economic growth, but emphasized that naked egoism as a leading principle in the relationship between countries invariably ends in disaster. Therefore the careful protection of peace, safety and respect for human rights is the most essential priority in every society.
The late Dr. Duisenberg in 1998 discussed how important it would be for The Netherlands to embrace the introduction of the euro. Although not for personal benefits or immediate economic gain, it would pacify Germany and finally offer a peaceful coexistence in Western Europe to the generations to come.
Mr. Bolkestein last year embraced Mandeville’s political theories and asked for their application in the process of the European unification. Citizens and companies in Europe should not be protected and shielded from the rest of the world. An open competition in industrial, social and tax policies throughout Europe will ultimately benefit this continent.
This year, on April 2nd, it was exactly 300 years ago that Mandeville published “The Grumbling Hive, or Knaves turned honest”. And this year I’m particularly proud to introduce to you the 11th Mandeville lecturer, for the first time a lady, Dr. Del Ponte.
Mrs. Del Ponte was born only a few decades ago in Lugano, Switzerland. She studied law in Bern and Geneva.
After a few years on-the-job training at a law office in Lugano she set up her own law and notary’s office and started practising law in 1975. In 1981 Mrs. Del Ponte was appointed investigating magistrate and became a public prosecutor. Responsible for investigating financial and white-collar crime, international drug trafficking and organized crime she gained thorough knowledge of international legal assistance in criminal matters.
In 1994 Mrs. Del Ponte was nominated Attorney General of Switzerland and finally on August 11, 1999 the UN Security Council appointed Mrs. Del Ponte to the position of Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals of the former Yugoslavia and Ruanda.
Throughout Mrs. Del Ponte’s career, which initially involved the prosecution of the Sicilian mafia, board members of the major Swiss banks, and important politicians in Italy, Brazil and Russia, her activities became more and more directed at espionage, arms dealing and terrorism.
However, for all of us in The Netherlands her role in bringing to justice those who committed atrocities in the former Yugoslavia has the greatest importance and appeal. Punishing them in a fair international tribunal provides redress for victims and their families, but also deters others replicating these crimes in the future. Mrs. Del Ponte once stated: “I will never serve anyone or anything but the law”, but she is also nicely characterized by the statement “I’m like a cat in front of a mouse hole: I wait and wait, until they come out and I will catch them”. Mr. Kofi Annan stated in 1999 when he introduced her: “Justice is a woman”.
We are very proud Mrs. Del Ponte, that you are here with us today.
