ROBINSON CRUSOE AS ECONOMIC MAN

A common interpretation of Crusoe is as economic man. His relationships with others are based primarily–some would say entirely–on their use for him; they are commodities who (which?) exist for his economic advantage. He forms a friendship with the English captain immediately upon being offered free passage on his ship. Despite Xury's bravery and loyalty, Crusoe sells him back into slavery--and for less than the boat they escaped in (sixty pieces of eight versus eighty pieces of eight). He regrets the loss of Xury twice, as a worker both on his Brazil plantation and on the island. It is on the island that Crusoe discovers an economic system of value based on an item's use; nevertheless, he keeps all the money he recovers from his expeditions to the two wrecks and from the corpse of the drowned boy. No social pressures or laws limit Crusoe's freedom to act in his own interests, so he functions with total laissez faire. On the island, he is the prototypical self-made man (or is he? He does, after all, rely on goods he retrieves from the two vessels).As economic man, Crusoe has been specifically identified with capitalism, particularly by Marxist critics. His solitary state on the island, his limited relationships with others, including his own family, and the insignificance of sex/women reflect the nature of capitalism, which emphasizes individual self-interest