The Economics of Indigenous Peoples and Ancient Economic Thought

This chapter challenges the universalism of modern economic theory by placing Indigenous economic systems in dialogue with ancient economic thought from India, China, and Greece. It critiques neoclassical assumptions (homo economicus, abstraction from place) and notes that Marxian frameworks, while powerful on class and enclosure, often under-theorize cosmology, non-material value, and multi-species governance. The chapter presents Indigenous economies (e.g., Andean ayllu, Dene governance) as coherent political economies embedded in land, law, kinship, and spirituality, emphasizing relational accountability, polycentric decision-making, and commons stewardship consistent with Ostrom’s design principles. In parallel, it surveys ethical–political traditions such as Kautilya’s statecraft and welfare duties, Confucian links between legitimacy and food security, and Aristotelian critiques of limitless accumulation. It introduces Symbiotic Gaian Economics (SGE) as a synthesis of relationality, moral economy, and Earth-system limits.