Abstract
Written by Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe was first published in 1719–20. By the end of the 19th century there were many references made to a Crusoe economy to illustrate the principles of supply and demand economic theory. Crusoe thus became a representative rational economic individual, allocating his available resources to obtain maximum satisfaction in the present or future.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Gossen, H.H. 1854. Entwickelung der Gesetze des menschlichen Verkehrs und der daraus fliessenden Reglen für menschliches Handeln. Brunswick: Vieweg.
Gove, P.B. 1941. The imaginary voyage in prose fiction. New York: Columbia University Press.
Hymer, S. 1980. Robinson Crusoe and the secret of primitive accumulation. In Growth, profits and property, ed. E.J. Nell. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Jevons, W.S. 1876. The future of political economy. In The principles of economics and other papers, ed. H. Higgs. London: Macmillan, 1905.
Marx, K. 1857–8. Grundrisse. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1973.
Meek, R.L. 1976. Social science and the ignoble savage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
White, M.V. 1982. Reading and rewriting. The production of an economic Robinson Crusoe. Southern Review 15(2): 115–142.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Copyright information
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
White, M.V. (2018). Robinson Crusoe. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1839
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1839
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95188-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95189-5
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences