关键词: 笛福, 历史视野, 贸易与帝国, 劳动, 自然与文明

Abstract: From the perspective of social theory, Daniel Defoe's Novel Robinson Crusoe is a fable of importance. The tale of Robinson Crusoe is a product not just of the European social transformation but also of the expansion of western civilization. In Defoe's view, fiction was a special kind of historical writing. In Robinson Crusoe, he expressed his thoughts on the social and political order of his time. Through Robinson's adventure, Defoe exposed the enslavement of colonies by European countries, and criticised the injustice of maritime empires at their foundation. In the desert island, Robinson used his hands to meet his own needs, creat wealth and restore the civilisation. The Robison in island was a metaphor that presented the natural laws of production and order, and demonstrated the natural foundation of wealth and civilisation. For Defoe,wealth and civilisation were rooted in natural reason and human labor. More importantly, through Robinson's interaction with Friday, Defoe allowed the readers to see the noble nature of "barbarians". By searching for the origins of civilisation and barbarism, Defoe removed their opposition and placed them in a continuous and unified historical process. The distinction between literary and wild could only reflect the difference between production techniques and customs. Civilised and barbarous society shared the same human foundations and moral laws. A unified system of political economy, which conforms to the laws of natural justice and involves different traditions of civilisation, can lay its foundation on the common human nature. In Defoe's view of history, we can find a dialectic of nature and civilisation, according to which, different civilisations and traditions can communicate and cooperate with each other.

Key words: Daniel Defoe, view of history, trade and empire, labor, nature and civilization