Wellness Calendar: Wednesday 25 June

Mutual aid
In 1848 Charles Darwin wrote an influential book called On the Origin of Species. Certain elements of this volume were taken to justify the behaviours within capitalist society, particularly the belief that competition was natural and innate and the driving force of humanity. Herbert Spencer’s phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ is a common refrain (The Principles of Biology, 1864).
Meanwhile, in 1900 Peter Kropotkin wrote an influential book called Mutual Aid.
He took the opposite view to social Darwinism, seeing competition as an artificial construct. Instead, he stated that cooperation and sociability are found in nature, which makes for the harmonious grouping of animals. He saw that in times of plenty there’s joining forces to fight against harsh environments and unfavourable conditions. It’s only when resources are scarce that there’s competition.
Mutual aid is about people coming together to support each other and in doing so avoiding the need to control, oppress, or create hierarchies and inequalities. Within these networks people take responsibility for their own actions as well as for each other’s care and well-being. This model is open to everyone, so long as the values of equality and freedom are adhered to.
Today there are mutual aid centres in many towns and cities that are open to voluntary participation. Is this something you might be interested in?
“No person, I think, ever saw a herd of buffalo, of which a few were fat and the great majority lean. No person ever saw a flock of birds, of which two or three were swimming in grease, and the others all skin and bone.”
Henry George