“Prisons are universities of crime, maintained by the state.”
In the book Mutual Aid, Peter Kropotkin explores the role of mutually-, beneficial cooperation in both the animal kingdom and human species, the book acts as an argument against the theories of social Darwinisim that focus on survival of the fittest and competition. He also argues against the romantic depictions of cooperation inspired by universal love by writers such as Rousseau. Instead Peter Kropotkin suggests that mutual aid is better and has more advantages for the future of animal and human communities.

This Graphyco edition includes over 50 historical and biographical footnotes.Those notes have the goal to make the book easier to understand.

Peter Kropotkin (1869-1940) was a Russian activist, anarchist and a writer.He was born in an aristocratic family and joined the military as an officer in Siberia where he was part of several geographical expeditions. During his stay in Moscow, he developed his lifelong interest in the condition of peasantry and was a big supporter of the tsar’s decision to emancipate the serfs in 1861. He declared himself anarchist,after spending years among the peasants in Siberia, following his arrest in 1872 for subversive political activity he escaped prison with his friends in 1876 and headed to England.