Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution

by Peter Kropotkin

Overview

In Mutual Aid, which was first published in 1903, the renowned geographer applies his explorations of Eastern Asia and his study of wild-animal behaviour to a critical examination of the theory of evolution. His arguments anticipate in a remarkable way the contention of contemporary ecologists that the world of nature is one of interdependence rather than strife.   Born in 1942 into an ancient military family of Russian princes, Peter Alexeivich Kropotkin was selected as a child for the elite Corps of Pages by Czar Nicholas I himself. Shortly before his death in 1921, Kropotkin had moved so far from his aristocratic beginnings and had attained such stature as a libertarian leader that he could with with impunity to Lenin, “Vladimir Ilyich, your actions are completely unworthy of the ideas you pretend to hold.”   Kropotkin provides a potent argument for anarchism by showing that people tend to cooperate spontaneously and that the state destroys this natural inclination towards mutual aid by strangling initiative with the dead hand of regulation.   With the exception of his memoirs, this is Kropotkin's best-known work, and it is widely regarded as his masterpiece. It forms the cornerstone of his philosophy, and constitutes the most successful attempt by any writer to put anarchism on a scientific foundation. Mutual Aid is still the best refutation of the Darwinian thesis of survival of the fittest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789355223555
Publisher:	Classy Publishing
Publication date:	06/30/2023
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.48(d)

About the Author

Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921) came from a major aristocratic Russian family but turned his back on it to embrace a life of imprisonment and exile in pursuit of his beliefs. His major works are The Conquest of Bread and Mutual Aid. His funeral was marked by the last permitted gathering of anarchists in the USSR.

David Priestland (introducer) is a British historian. He teaches modern history at the University of Oxford and is Fellow of St Edmund Hall. Priestland's research focuses on the history of the Soviet Union and the development of communism and neoliberalism. He is an occasional political and cultural commentator for The Guardian and New Statesman.

Table of Contents

Preface to the 1914 Edition
Introduction
I.-II. Mutual Aid Among Animals
III. Mutual Aid Among Savages
IV. Mutual Aid Among the Barbarians
V.-VI. Mutual Aid in the Mediæval City
VII.-VIII. Mutual Aid Amongst Ourselves
Conclusion
Appendix A
I. Swarms of Butterflies, Dragon-flies, etc.
II. The Ants
III. Nesting Associations
IV. Sociability of Animals
V. Checks to Over-Multiplication
VI. Adaptations to Avoid Competition
VII. The Origin of the Family
VIII. Destruction of Private Property on the Grave
IX. The "Undivided Family"
X. The Origin of the Guilds
XI. The Market and the Mediæval City
XII. Mutual-Aid Arrangements in the Villages of Netherlands at the Present Day
Appendix B
The Struggle for Existence in Human Society by Thomas H. Huxley
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Kropotkin was far ahead of his time. He rejected both authoritarian communism and the iron cage of capitalism. He believed in the power of the individual, but equally that we can't survive without each other."-Rutger Bregman, Utopia for Realists and Humankind

"Russian social theorist Peter Kropotkin ... argued that voluntary cooperation has been key to the flourishing of human civilization."-The New York Times

"Kropotkin's ideas on mutual aid played a prominent, critical role in the study of behavior and evolution."-Scientific American

"Make no mistake: the story that started with Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin is far from finished. On the contrary, I believe there's a good chance that it's only just begun."-Rutger Bregman, Utopia for Realists and Humankind

"Today, anthropologists, political scientists, economists and psychologists publish hundreds of studies each year on human cooperation, and researchers in these fields are just beginning to realize that so many of the topics they are investigating were first suggested and promulgated by Peter Kropotkin."-Lee Alan Dugatkin, Scientific American

"The book is undeniably readable throughout. The author has a creed which he preaches with all the fervour of genuine conviction. He is anxious to make converts, but his zeal never leads him to forget fairness and courtesy. Those who disagree with him may learn much by studying the book."-Nature

"Literally hundreds of papers come out each year on animal cooperation - many in preeminent journals such as Nature and Science - and so many of these papers show Kropotkin to be a prophet."-Scientific American

From the Publisher