pt. 1. The Robinsonades : the development of the unencumbered rational economic man -- pt. 2. The quintessential rational economic man : feminist interrogations -- pt. 3. The quintessential rational economic man : postcolonial interrogations.

The tale of Robinson Crusoe strikes a responsive chord in the imagination of many economists. This paper argues that the story of Robinson Crusoe, and the joy economists take in his example, are indicative of the way the discipline deals with issues of race and gender. Crusoe is used to...