= Mutual_Aid:_A_Factor_of

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= Mutual_Aid:_A_Factor_of_Evolution =
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Introduction
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'Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution' is a 1902 collection of
anthropological essays by Russian naturalist and anarchist philosopher
Peter Kropotkin. The essays, initially published in the English
periodical 'The Nineteenth Century' between 1890 and 1896, explore the
role of mutually beneficial cooperation and reciprocity (or "mutual
aid") in the animal kingdom and human societies both past and present.
It is an argument against theories of social Darwinism that emphasize
competition and survival of the fittest, and against the romantic
depictions by writers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who thought that
cooperation was motivated by universal love. Instead, Kropotkin argues
that mutual aid has pragmatic advantages for the survival of human and
animal communities and, along with the conscience, has been promoted
through natural selection.

'Mutual Aid' is considered a fundamental text in anarchist communism.
It presents a scientific basis for communism as an alternative to the
historical materialism of the Marxists. Kropotkin considers the
importance of mutual aid for prosperity and survival in the animal
kingdom, in indigenous and early European societies, in the medieval
free cities (especially through the guilds), and in the late 19th
century village, labor movement, and impoverished people. He
criticizes the State for destroying historically important mutual aid
institutions, particularly through the imposition of private property.

Many biologists (including Stephen Jay Gould, one of the most
influential evolutionary biologists of his generation) also consider
it an important catalyst in the scientific study of cooperation.

Content
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Kropotkin emphasizes the distinction between competitive struggle
between individual organisms over limited resources and collective
struggle between organisms and the environment. He drew from his
firsthand observations of Siberia and Northeast Asia, where he saw
that animal populations were limited not by food sources, which were
abundant, but rather by harsh weather. For example, predatory birds
may compete by stealing food from one another while migratory birds
cooperate in order to survive harsh winters by traveling long
distances. He did not deny the competitive form of struggle but
argued that the cooperative counterpart has been under-emphasized:
"There is an immense amount of warfare and extermination going on
amidst various species; there is, at the same time, as much, or
perhaps even more, of mutual support, mutual aid, and mutual
defense... Sociability is as much a law of nature as mutual struggle."

Kropotkin's ideas expressed the now recognized importance of mutualism
(a beneficial relationship between two different species) and altruism
(when one member of a species aids another) in biology. Examples of
altruism in animals include kin selection and reciprocal altruism.

Reception
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Daniel P. Todes, in his account of Russian naturalism in the 19th
century, concludes that Kropotkin's work "cannot be dismissed as the
idiosyncratic product of an anarchist dabbling in biology" and that
his views "were but one expression of a broad current in Russian
evolutionary thought that pre-dated, indeed encouraged, his work on
the subject and was by no means confined to leftist thinkers."

As a description of biology, Kropotkin's perspective is consistent
with contemporary understanding. Stephen Jay Gould admired Kropotkin's
observations, noting that cooperation, if it increases individual
survival, is not ruled out by natural selection, and is in fact
encouraged. Douglas H. Boucher places Kropotkin's book as a precursor
to the development of the biological theory of altruism.

Editions
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* Includes Kropotkin's 1914 preface, Foreword and Bibliography by
Ashley Montagu, and The Struggle for Existence, by Thomas H. Huxley

*

* Includes Introduction by David Graeber and Andrej Grubaac, Foreword
by Ruth Kinna, Postscript by GATS, Afterword by Allan Antliff, and
illustrations by N.O.Bonzo

See also
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* 'A Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution and Cooperation'
* Ethology
* Evolutionary anthropology
* List of books about anarchism
* Psychological egoism

External links
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*
[https://archive.org/details/mutualaidfactoro00krop_1/page/n3/mode/2up
'Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution'], the original edition at
archive.org
*
[https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-mutual-aid-a-factor-of-evolution
'Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution'] at The Anarchist Library
* [https://libcom.org/library/mutual-aid-peter-kropotkin 'Mutual Aid:
A Factor of Evolution'] at Libcom.org
*
*
[http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/kropotkin/mutaidcontents.html
Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution] - HTML version at the Anarchy
Archives
*
[http://www.revoltlib.com/anarchism/mutual-aid-factor-of-evolution-mutual-kropotkin-peter-1902/
Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution] - Plain PDF version at the
[http://www.revoltlib.com RevoltLib]
*
* Paul Mattick,
[https://www.marxists.org/archive/mattick-paul/1956/kropotkin.htm
'Kropotkin on Mutual Aid -- Review'], 1956.
*

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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_Aid:_A_Factor_of_Evolution