Ruth Kinna

Kropotkin's Theory of Mutual Aid in Historical Context

This paper examines the relationship between science and anarchism in Kropotkins theory of mutual aid and analyses it in the light of his concerns about the rise of social democracy and individualism. Tracing the development of the theory from the 1890s to Kropotkins death in 1921, it affirms the centrality of mutual aid in his work but argues, contrary to existing readings, that the theory can be seen as an attempt to inspire the revival of the anarchist movement. It concludes that there is an unresolved tension in Kropotkins work arising from the imbalance between the idea of a “natural anarchist tendency” and anarchist propaganda.

Fields of Vision: Kropotkin and Revolutionary Change

This item is Restricted Access. The article was published in the journal, SubStance : a review of theory and literary criticism [© University of Wisconsin Press] and is available at: http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/journals/journals/ss.html

Politics, ideology and utopia: a defence of eutopian worlds

This article examines a recent shift in radical thinking about utopia and a critique of traditional socialist utopianism that has emerged from it. It argues that this new form of utopianism mistakenly treats the idea of future transformation as an illiberal ideological commitment and that it fails to distinguish adequately between different models of socialist utopian thought. The result is a form of utopianism that strips utopia of one of its central elements, the eu-topian aspect. The argument draws on the critique presented by Simon Tormey and a comparative analysis of the socialist utopianism of William Morris—the most celebrated British socialist utopian of the late 19th century—and Ernest Belfort Bax.

William Morris and the Problem of Englishness

This article examines William Morris’s idea of Englishness, considered through a critique of his concept of fellowship or community. It looks at the charge that Morris wrongly neglected the importance of nationality as a focus for organization in socialism, preferring instead an internationalist ideal, based on an unworkable model of small-scale community. I defend Morris against these claims by arguing that Morris’s socialism was consistent with expressions of nationality and that his communitarianism was grounded on a concept of enjoyable labour, not friendship as is often supposed.

KROPOTKIN AND HUXLEY

In his introduction to Mutual Aid, Kropotkin identifies the Russian biologist, Kessler, as the inspiration for the development of his evolutionary theory. It was Kessler, he claims, who impressed upon him the symbiotic aspects of natural selection and who alerted him to the ‘corruption’ of Darwin’s hypothesis by Victorian ‘social darwinists’. Kropotkin‘s elaboration of Kessler’s thesis begins with a refutation of social darwinism and T.H. Huxley serves as the target of his attack.

I come to praise anarchism, not to bury it

This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book review published by Taylor & Francis Group in Journal of Political Power on 22 November 2013, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/2158379X.2013.849369

The Mirror of Anarchy: The Egoism of John Henry Mackay and Dora Marsden

Stirner occupies a curious place in the history of anarchist ideas. Although he has been identified as a central figure in histories of anarchist thought, he is probably the least celebrated of the nineteenth-century thinkers. Disquiet about Stirner’s place in the canon was apparent as early as the 1880s and 1890s, the period of Stirner’s revival. Although important figures like Max Nettlau attempted to negotiate the differences between individualists and communists, Kropotkin and Malatesta both advanced strong criticisms of growing egoist trends.1 Even writers who admired Nietzsche, with whom Stirner’s work was frequently associated in anarchist circles, were prone to attack Stirner. In a review for Mother Earth, Max Baginski dismissed the celebration of his work as a ‘harmless bourgeois cult’ and compared it unfavourably to Nietzsche’s.2 It is perhaps symbolic of the awkwardness anarchists felt about Stirner’s contribution that no drawing of him appeared on the cover of the Freedom edition of Paul Eltzbacher’s study of the seven sages: uniquely, his name is set in the frame of a blank box.

Guy Aldred: bridging the gap between Marxism and anarchism

This article examines the political thought of the socialist campaigner, Guy Aldred, in order to reflect on divisions between anarchism and social democracy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Aldreds thought drew on a diverse range of ideas and he labelled this rich synthesis communism. Believing that his position captured the best of Marxist and anarchist traditions, he argued that socialist factionalism was based on a distortion of Marxs work and that the relationship between Marxism and anarchism was properly understood as the one between the head and heart of the movement. His claim not only subsumed the anarchist critique of social democracy into Marxism but it also relied on a system of classification which undercut the creative tensions in his political thinking.

The relevance of Morris's utopia

This paper considers the reputation of William Morriss News From Nowhere and its evaluation as a utopia. It argues that there is a discrepancy between scholarly estimations of the books importance and its treatment as a utopia relevant to socialism. Whilst scholars have for many years almost unanimously praised News From Nowhere as Morriss crowning achievement, most have also attempted to argue that Morris did not intend his work to be used as a serious model for socialism. After reviewing some of the secondary literature and distinguishing between a variety of different interpretations of Morriss work, I suggest that the relevance of News From Nowhere might be assessed by the standards which Morris applied to Thomas Mores Utopia. Considering Morriss work in this framework of utopianism, I argue that the relevance of Morriss utopia lies in what Norman Geras has called its “maximum” vision.

The Jacobinism and patriotism of Ernest Belfort Bax

This article examines Ernest Belfort Baxs interpretation of the French Revolution and traces the impact that his idea of the Revolution had on his philosophy and his political thought. The first section considers Baxs understanding of the Revolution in the context of his theory of history and analyses his conception of the Revolutions legacy, drawing particularly on his portraits of Robespierre, Marat and Babeuf. The second section shows how the lessons Bax drew from this history shaped his socialist republicanism and discusses his support for Jacobin methods of revolutionary change. The third section of the article looks at the ways in which Baxs reading of revolutionary history affected his internationalism and shows how his ‘anti-patriotism’ led him to support the Anglo-French campaign in 1914. I argue that the Baxs understanding of the French Revolution gave body to his philosophy and greatly influenced his understanding of the socialist struggle. Bax believed that socialists had history on their side, but was so emboldened by the idea of the Revolution that he was led to advance a view of socialist change that undermined the historic values that socialism was supposed to enshrine. ☆ I would like to thank Colin Tyler for comments on an earlier draft of this article.