Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution

by Peter Kropotkin, Pyotr Kropotkin

Overview

"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

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

"The book is undeniably readable throughout ... Those who disagree with [Kropotkin] may learn much by studying the book."-Nature

The fascinating work of a Russian prince-turned-anarchist, Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921). Kropotkin one of the world's first international celebrities. In England, Kropotkin was known as a brilliant scientist, famous for his work on animal and human cooperation, but Kropotkin's fame in continental Europe centered more on his role as a founder and vocal proponent of anarchism. In the United States, he pursued both passions. Tens of thousands of people followed ex-Prince Peter during two speaking tours in America.

Kropotkin's path to fame was unexpected and labyrinthine, with asides in prison, breathtaking 50,000-mile journeys through the wastelands of Siberia, and banishment, for one reason or another, from most respectable Western countries of the day. In his homeland of Russia, Peter went from being Czar Alexander II's favored teenage page, to a young man enamored with the theory of evolution, to a convicted felon, jail-breaker and general agitator, eventually being chased halfway around the world by the Russian Secret police for his radical - some might (and did) say enlightened - political views.

Both while in jail, and while on the run when he was entertaining and enlightening huge crowds, Kropotkin found the energy and concentration to write books on a dazzling array of topics: evolution and behavior, ethics, the geography of Asia, anarchism, socialism and communism, penal systems, the coming industrial revolution in the East, the French Revolution, and the state of Russian literature. Though seemingly disparate topics, a common thread - the scientific law of mutual aid, which guided the evolution of all life on earth - tied these works together. This law boils down to Kropotkin's deep-seated conviction that what we today would call altruism and cooperation - but what the Prince called mutual aid - was the driving evolutionary force behind all social life, be it in microbes, animals or humans. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781922491343
Publisher:	Critical Editions
Publication date:	09/11/2021
Series:	Critical Editions
Pages:	254
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

The fascinating story of a Russian prince-turned-anarchist, Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921). Kropotkin one of the world's first international celebrities. In England, Kropotkin was known as a brilliant scientist, famous for his work on animal and human cooperation, but Kropotkin's fame in continental Europe centered more on his role as a founder and vocal proponent of anarchism. In the United States, he pursued both passions. Tens of thousands of people followed ex-Prince Peter during two speaking tours in America.Kropotkin's path to fame was unexpected and labyrinthine, with asides in prison, breathtaking 50,000-mile journeys through the wastelands of Siberia, and banishment, for one reason or another, from most respectable Western countries of the day. In his homeland of Russia, Peter went from being Czar Alexander II's favored teenage page, to a young man enamored with the theory of evolution, to a convicted felon, jail-breaker and general agitator, eventually being chased halfway around the world by the Russian Secret police for his radical-some might (and did) say enlightened-political views.Both while in jail, and while on the run when he was entertaining and enlightening huge crowds, Kropotkin found the energy and concentration to write books on a dazzling array of topics: evolution and behavior, ethics, the geography of Asia, anarchism, socialism and communism, penal systems, the coming industrial revolution in the East, the French Revolution, and the state of Russian literature. Though seemingly disparate topics, a common thread-the scientific law of mutual aid, which guided the evolution of all life on earth-tied these works together. This law boils down to Kropotkin's deep-seated conviction that what we today would call altruism and cooperation-but what the Prince called mutual aid-was the driving evolutionary force behind all social life, be it in microbes, animals or humans. 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.

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