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Mutual Aid

An Illuminated Factor of Evolution

New!

One hundred years after his death, Peter Kropotkin is still one of the most inspirational figures of the anarchist movement. It is often forgotten that Kropotkin was also a world-renowned geographer whose seminal critique of the hypothesis of competition promoted by Social Darwinism helped revolutionize modern evolutionary theory. An admirer of Darwin, he used his observations of life in Siberia as the basis for his 1902 collection of essays Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution. Kropotkin demonstrated that mutually beneficial cooperation and reciprocity—in both individuals and as a species—plays a far more important role in the animal kingdom and human societies than does individualized competitive struggle. Kropotkin carefully crafted his theory making the science accessible. His account of nature rejected Rousseau’s romantic depictions and ethical socialist ideas that cooperation was motivated by the notion of “universal love.” His understanding of the dynamics of social evolution shows us that the power of cooperation—whether it is bison defending themselves against a predator or workers unionizing against their boss. His message is clear: solidarity is strength!

Every page of this new edition of Mutual Aid has been beautifully illustrated by one of anarchism’s most celebrated current artists, N.O. Bonzo. The reader will also enjoy original artwork by GATS and insightful commentary by David Graeber, Ruth Kinna, Andrej Grubacic, and Allan Antliff.

Contributors

Peter Kropotkin

Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921) was the foremost theorist of the anarchist movement. Born a Russian prince, he rejected his title to become a revolutionary, seeking a society based on freedom, equality, and solidarity. Imprisoned for his activism in Russia and France, his writings include The Conquest of Bread; Fields, Factories, and Workshops; Anarchism, Anarchist-Communism, and the State; Memoirs of a Revolutionist; and Modern Science and Anarchism.

N.O Bonzo

N.O. Bonzo is an anarchist illustrator, printmaker, and muralist based out of Portland, OR. They are the creator of Off with Their Heads: An Antifascist Coloring Book.

David Graeber

David Graeber (1961-2020) taught anthropology at the London School of Economics. He was the international best-selling author of Debt: The First 5,000 Years and Bullshit Jobs: A Theory. He has written for Harpers, The Nation, Mute, and the New Left Review. One of the original organizers of Occupy Wall Street, Graeber has been called an anti-leader of the movement by Bloomberg Businessweek. The Atlantic wrote that he has come to represent the Occupy Wall Street message ... expressing the groups theory, and its founding principles, in a way that truly elucidated some of the things people have questioned about it.

Andrej Grubačić

Andrej Grubacic is a dissident from the Balkans. A radical historian and sociologist, he is the author of Wobblies and Zapatistas: Conversations on Anarchism, Marxism and Radical History; Dont Mourn, Balkanize! Essays after Yugoslavia; and the editor of From Here to There: The Staughton Lynd Reader. A fellow traveler of Zapatista-inspired direct-action movements, in particular Peoples; Global Action, and a cofounder of Global Balkans Network and Balkan Z Magazine, he is associate professor in cultural anthropology at California Institute of Integral Studies.

Ruth Kinna

Ruth Kinna works at Loughborough University in the UK. She is the author of Kropotkin: Reviewing the Classical Anarchist Tradition (2016) and writes on historical and contemporary anarchist politics. She is editor of the peer-review journal Anarchist Studies.

GATS

Oakland-based artist GATS (Graffiti Against the System) is an internationally renowned graffiti artist with work reaching as far as Palestine, the Philippines, and Rome. He is best known for his iconic mask imagery, the intricate insignias that fill them, and his liberatory political messaging accompanying many of his pieces.

Allan Antliff

Allan Antliff is an anarchist activist, art critic, author, and founding member of the Toronto Anarchist Free School who has written extensively on the topics of anarchism and art in North America since the 1980s.
Chapter Title Contents Contributors Pages Year Price

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In the Foreword, Ruth Kinna discuses Mutual Aid and Evolutionary Theory, Mutual Aid and Social Theory, and Evolution and Revolution. 14 $1.40

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In the Introduction, David Graeber and Andrej Grubačić examines the history of theories on social evolution, political theology, and the impact of Peter Kropotkin’s Mutal Aid had … ; 8 $0.80

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In Chapter I, Kropotkin looks at cooperation among animals across the animal kingdom and how their collective struggle for existence. The chapter explores topics including Mutual Aid as a law of … 21 $2.10

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In Chapter II, Kropotkin continues to look at cooperation among animals. This chapter examines migration, hunting associations, packs of animals as societies, and argues against theories based on … 29 $2.90

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In Chapter III, Kropotkin examines examples of mutual aid between ‘primitive cultures.’ The chapter explores topics including the tribal origin of human society, the late appearance … 25 $2.50

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In Chapter IV, Kropotkin looks at the challenges communal living as primitive societies move towards higher stages of civilization, and what is lost in the process. The chapter explores topics … 23 $2.30

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In Chapter V, Kropotkin explores the growth of authority in barbarian societies, and they became medieval cities. The chapter examines topics including the evolution of Serfdom, fortified towns, … 21 $2.10

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In Chapter VI, Kropotkin continues his examination of the medieval city by exploring the diversity among the medieval cities. Topics discussed include craft guilds, treatment of peasants, roles … 23 $2.30

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In Chapter VII, Kropotkin explores examples of mutual aid in in recent history. Topics discussed include popular revolts, mutual aid institutions, the struggle of community verses its abolition … 23 $2.30

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In Chapter VIII, Kropotkin explores how mutual aid can be used in the present day as of his writing in 1902. The chapter discusses Labour-unions and their struggles for workers’ rights, the … 21 $2.10

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Kropotkin’s conclusion. ; 9 $0.90

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Agitating Beauty: The Anarchist Politics of the Book Allan Antliff. 16 $1.60

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Artist’s Note from N.O. Bonzo. 2 $0.20

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Postscript from GATS. 2 $0.20