Faith and Economics in Robinson Crusoe

Abstract: This paper offers a case study in the juxtaposition of literature and economics, making use of Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe. The novel is an extended treatment of social isolation; and many social theorists, including many economists specifically, have thought that focusing on a person in isolation is a useful means of illuminating certain significant aspects of the ‘social’. Moreover, in this text there is much material dealing with the spiritual aspects of isolation/solitude. In that sense, in Robinson Crusoe, faith, economics, and social theory all come together; and we consider it an interesting exercise to examine how Defoe’s text illuminates these matters both in themselves and in their relation to each other.