The Paradise Story

Abstract

This article draws on constitutional political economy, especially the works of James Buchanan, in order to analyze the paradise story. This study applies constitutional economic concepts such as Hobbesian anarchy, predation behaviour, the natural distribution state, (dis-)armament investments, and constitutional contract. The purpose of this reconstruction is to better understand why ultimately the interactions between God and Adam & Eve broke down. This article demonstrates that the Old Testament is rather modern in this respect, choosing a destructive conflict model at the outset. This provides a reference point for subsequent Bible stories when developing new, fairer, and more equally negotiated constitutional contracts between God and humans (especially through the new covenants of Genesis).