UNIVERSITY OF SARAJEVO YEAR: 2011/2012 Faculty of Philosophy English Department

ESSAY Defoes concept of Homo- Economicus

Mentor: Doc.Dr. Shahab Yar Khan Sarajevo, 2012.

Student: Ammar Kadri

Defoes concept of Homo-Economicus

Introduction: The rough definition of Homo-Economicus (or Economic Man) would be: HomoEconomicus acts rational and in self-interest manner, seeking to optimize his condition with the least possible cost given preceded opportunities1 By this definition Defoes character of Robinson Crusoe has always been seen as a great example of Homo-Economicus. As soon as Robinson Crusoe becomes aware of the situation he got himself into, he immediately starts to use any available resources that he could find in the hostile environment he is in. Robinson Crusoe as a character is a great example of a capitalist. He held slaves, plantations and was always seeking a way to expand his business by traveling to remote places and learning new ways to get richer. In that aspect Robinson Crusoe is quite autobiographic work of Defoe. Defoe himself often got himself into questionable adventures that went bad for him. He had plenty of lawsuits, one was even from his mother-in-law, because all of these suits he went bankrupt for 17,000.

Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and J.M. Coetzee's Foe: Colonial Imagination and it's Postcolonial Deconstruction, pg 5.

Homo-Economicus, getting the best out of given Defoe often wrote about his religion and economics, both of these elements are seen in Robinson Crusoe as the tries to blend his human nature as an economic, capitalist modern man and a devoted and humble puritan. The character of Crusoe has been an all-time favorite to the economics, as he carefully allocates the resources; calculating value of slaves, his food consumption, and market prices, which are the all indicators that show the value of a good economic man no matter in what circumstances he got himself into. The next important aspect was Crusoes religion. Theologians and modern economists argue about which one is the more important aspect in this work. While one claim that things started to get better for Crusoe when he converted to Christianity other claim that religion didnt have much importance in his chance of survival, telling that rather Crusoes clever economic mind helped him to get out the best out of the given situation he was in. This argue of the critics can go on as long as there is a time but that blend of religion and capitalism (economy) I mentioned earlier was the masterpiece of Daniel Defoe which sparked many debates on this subject. Crusoe treats almost everything with a market value. Interesting example is that of Robinson Crusoe and Xury. At the beginning Crusoe wasnt thinking too much when he decided to sell Xury for a good market price, but later on he regrets it because he realized that he could use Xury better as his own personal slave. Crusoe always looks to get better outcome from every relationship he gets himself into. Thats the true example of a modern capitalist business man that is now largely widespread. But this view wasnt very represented before Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe which makes this work, and the character of Crusoe, the prototype of HomoEconomicus. Apart from his relationship with Xury, the most important one is with Crusoe and Friday. Even though Crusoe spent 20 years in isolation before meeting Friday, his first reaction was to enslave him. Even the first word Crusoe taught Friday was Master so Friday could refer to him by that word. So their initial relationship wasnt that of friends but of a master-slave relationship. That is one more proof of Crusoe being an economic man an evaluating a price and a value of Friday.

To some critics Robinson Crusoe is a story of rebellion, punishment, repentance and deliverance and the behavior of an individual on the deserted island as a Homo-Economicus in a wellestablished accord of a Puritan view of a man.2

Colonial discourse regarding this novel goes hand-in-hand with the economic manifestations discussed above. Rather than seeing these two as separate spheres the rather supplement each other. When Crusoe colonized the island he also managed to become the king of it. With the flattery title came all the benefits that run along with it. He acquired enormous wealth as well as a good name, and all these concepts helped him to expand his business and wealth when he came back home to England. The character of Crusoe is in a great manner autobiographic, and resembles Defoes economic situations. As well as Crusoe, Defoes business was quite diverse. He mainly dealt with exportimport of wine, woolen, tobacco, timber and other goods. Just like Crusoe, he had a habit of over-reaching with his business. When Crusoe went to Africa to buy more slaves lamented: I that was born to be my own Destroyer, could no more resist the Offer than I could restrain my first rambling Designs. 3 The fact that Crusoe gets rid of his social ties so early in life is indicative of his capitalistic and economic nature. He believed that he didnt need emotional ties to bind him to one place or one specific profession or job. He then breaks free of his family for purely classic reason of homoeconomicus i.e. to improve his economic condition. All of this search for better opportunities brings him to isolation from his family and domestic life and places him into the fate of a desolate island. But this didnt stop Crusoe from expanding his business and creating and economic empire.

2 3

Robinson Crusoe-Homo Economicus, Reservations concernig Proffesor's Osuka Interpretation, pg. 6 Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe, Edited by Evan R. Davies, Introduction pg. 15

In many ways Robinson Crusoe can be regarded as a work of a defining modern citizen in capitalist society. 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. Because of the primacy of the individual, capitalism tended to diminish the importance of personal as well as group relationships. In all of the aspects mentioned above in this essay we can truly say that Robinson Crusoe is the true embodiment of a capitalist man or homo-economicus if you prefer. He always looks for his best interest, always tries to expand his business, even though that risk of expansion didnt always worked out for him. No matter the consequences he is always ready for the risk, if that risk will bring him fortune. Robinson Crusoe also lacks some people skills. He is an embodiment of an isolationist, and every relationship he got himself into on the island resulted in looking for the best outcome for him. He practically enslaved Friday as soon as he met him, he made friends with the captain of the ship just because of the future interests, and he isolated himself from his family. He ventures into the unknown for search of the other opportunities. This isolationist nature of the Crusoe can also be viewed from the religious aspect of the novel. The father, in urging Crusoe to stay in the comfortable position (the middle class) where God placed him to, represents an older view of a man's duty, which is to accept the lot God assigned him in a society where social class is essentially fixed and in a class which is stable. Crusoe, on the other hand, represents a modern social and economic ideal; his desire to venture forth and his aspirations to make more are the hallmarks of capitalism. No matter from what aspect you examined Crusoes behavior and nature, the one thing is undisputed; Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe is the prototype and the pioneer of the phenomenon called homo-economicus.

RESEARCH BOOKS: 1. Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe, Edited by Evan R. Davis, Broadview Press 2. The New Economic Criticism, Studies and Intersections of literature and economics, Edited by Martha Woodmanse and Mark Osteen, 1999. Routledge 3. Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe and J.M. Coetzees Foe: Colonial Imagination and its Postcolonial Deconstrucion, Marc Alexander Amlinger, Published by GRIN 4. Robinson Crusoe-Homo Economicus, Reservations concernig Proffesor's Osuka Interpretation