This is a write-up of my notes for the book launch of Kropotkin’s Modern Science and Anarchy in Nottingham, 17th of November 2018. This, in turn, was a slightly revised version of a talk I did in Edinburgh early that year. As with all my subsequent write-ups, this is more what I aimed to say rather than what was said (this, for example, has far fewer jokes than uttered on the day). Still, it covers the main points said on the day.
(more…)Category: Mutual Aid
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The frustration of Richard Dawkins
A review of Richard Dawkins documentary on Charles Darwin which appeared in Channel 4 (UK) in August 2008. While aware of the existence of co-operation (mutual aid), he has a hard time integrating into his views on evolution which are very much rooted in Huxley’s notions.
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Review: The Age of Empathy
A review of an excellent book leading Primatologist Frans de Waal which confirms Kropotkin’s views on mutual aid and ethics. It appeared in Anarcho-Syndicalist Review No. 58 (Summer 2012)
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Review: The Altruism Equation
A review of a book on evolutionary theory and altruism which discusses Kropotkin. Unfortunately, as shown, the account of Kropotkin’s ideas is flawed and so both “mutual aid” and his contribution to science are obscured. It appeared in Anarcho-Syndicalist Review No. 91 (Winter 2025)
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Mutual Aid: Kropotkin versus Jones
A review of book by a noted academic who tries to discuss Kropotkin’s ideas on mutual aid but fails due to its inaccuracies as well as the author’s acceptance of the cultural assumptions of the society he inhabits. It appeared in Freedom, 2nd March 2008.
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