Customer Reviews

An Insightful, eye opening masterpiece! - By: davidjwatts@hotmail.com, 08 Dec 2000
Mutual Aid is a masterpiece of political, sociological, historical, & anthropological work & even zoology. It challenges many common misconceptions about human nature & evolution that are held by the majority of people, previously including myself.The main idea it challenges is that of "SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST"in nature & as a part of human nature & its rolein evolution. Peter Kropotkin points out that the struggle for survival is against harsh conditions rather than between inividuals & that the best way for a species to survive is by " Mutual aid & support" rather than "Individualistic struggle" & points to many examplesin nature such as migratory birds, ants, bees, monkeys & ultimately humans who survived when others such as the sabre tooth tiger failed (despite its physical superiorityin terms of strength & speed & sharp teeth & claws) because of humans ability to livein societies & cooperate whereas the sabre tooth tiger was far too individual. Kropotkins strength is his critical use of endless examples to back himself up which adds great power to his arguement. The significance of Mutual aid is collossal, even today. Free Market Capitalism is founded on the idea of survival of the fittest being the best way for humans to live & that inequality is natural & therefore justifiable whereas Kropotkin points to the extremely sociable & prosperous mannerin which many tribes & societies have lived i.e.Greece.Also the tendency of humans to behave as savages has also underpinned the need for a state; however if humans left to there own devices can cooperate then there is no need for a state as humans can look after themselves. Also, when Maggie Thatcher famously said:"There is no such thing as society" to back up her vision of a free market, she was fundamentally wrong. Krpotkin says that as we are evolved from primates who are very sociable, then society is ANTERIOR to man, not man made.

To sum up: "In the ethical progress of man, mutual support- not mutual struggle has had the leading part."