Kropotkin and Reclus: Geographers, evolution and 'mutual aid'

Abstract

The notion of 'mutual aid' is most often uncritically attributed to the Russian geographer Peter Kropotkin. The possible influences on his thought of his contemporary and close associate, Elisee Reclus, are typically ignored. While it is most likely that Kropotkin did indeed formulate the notion of 'mutual aid' primarily on his own initiative, it was concurrently adapted by Reclus and integrated into his own evolutionary thinking in a similar manner to the way in which Kropotkin used it. Kropotkin and Reclus were both communitarian anarchists and their ultimate visions of a future society were closely correlated.