Capitalism in "Robinson Crusoe"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains why the protagonist in the famous novel by Daniel Defoe "Robinson Crusoe" is often used as a symbol of individualism that led to the rise of capitalism.

From the Paper:

"The fact that Crusoe gets rid of his social ties early in life is indicative of his capitalistic nature. He believed that he did not need emotional ties to bind him to one geographical location or one specific profession. He thus breaks free of his family for purely classic reason of homo economicus i.e. to improve his economic condition. -that it is necessary to better his economic condition. "Something fatal in that propension of nature" forces him into a life of adventure and takes him away from boring life of "settling to business". Crusoe first starts as a plantation owner and there his relationship with a slave Xury is worth mentioning in connection with capitalism. Despite his claims of abhorring capitalistic bourgeois, Crusoe treats every resource in exactly the manner a capitalist would. Xury is a brave and loyal slave, yet Crusoe sells him to another trader as soon as an opportunity arises. He doesn't dwell on relationships which indicate that Xury was simply seen as a commodity and not real human being. While we agree that Crusoe was reluctant to sell Xury and that latter had agreed to the terms determined by the Portuguese trader, yet the fact remains that Crusoe did not crave human company at all. Aristotle had once said that a man who doesn't require company and is self-sufficient for himself is either a beast or a god. In this novel, we notice that Crusoe was behaving more like a capitalist beast when he shuns all company and still considers himself happy."

More papers on Capitalism in "Robinson Crusoe":

• Book Review # 116488 : "Capitalism and Individualism in "Robinson Crusoe"
• Analytical Essay # 68141 : "Robinson Crusoe"
• Analytical Essay # 57708 : "Robinson's Man Friday"

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