KROPOTKINS THEORY OF MUTUAL AID IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT

This paper examines the relationship between science and anarchism in Kropotkin's theory of mutual aid and analyses it in the light of his c oncerns about the rise of social democracy and individualism. Tracing the development of the theory from the 1890s to Kropotkin's death in 1 921, it affirms the centrality of mutual aid in his work but argues, c ontrary to existing readings, that the theory can be seen as an attemp t to inspire the revival of the anarchist movement. It concludes that there is an unresolved tension in Kropotkin's work arising from the im balance between the idea of a ''natural anarchist tendency'' and anarc hist propaganda.