There is a very detailed article on this topic by the evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, titled ‘Kropotkin was no crackpot’. He points out how Kropotkin’s ideas are closer to the current understanding of evolution than the ‘social Darwinism’ and many other popular perceptions of Darwinism.
I agree completely that Kropotkin is more right than your average social Darwinist or nazi, but all three use “evolution” as a concept to further their political interests, and do not correctly portray the reality or nuance of the Darwinian influences on primates societies. There’s a reason he had a reputation for being a crackpot among evolutionary biologists in the first place.
There is a very detailed article on this topic by the evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, titled ‘Kropotkin was no crackpot’. He points out how Kropotkin’s ideas are closer to the current understanding of evolution than the ‘social Darwinism’ and many other popular perceptions of Darwinism.
I agree completely that Kropotkin is more right than your average social Darwinist or nazi, but all three use “evolution” as a concept to further their political interests, and do not correctly portray the reality or nuance of the Darwinian influences on primates societies. There’s a reason he had a reputation for being a crackpot among evolutionary biologists in the first place.