Kropotkin's Anarchist Animals

Peter Kropotkin’s is widely cited across both the natural and social sciences. In biology, he is recognized for his pioneering analyses of mutualism among nonhuman animals; in the social sciences, he is celebrated for offering one of the most rigorous defenses of anarchism as a philosophy, ideal, and revolutionary practice. This paper argues that these two dimensions of Kropotkin’s thought are not separate but overlapping, with his studies of animal societies playing a central role in shaping his political commitments. In his studies of nonhumans, Kropotkin identified not only a strong tendency toward cooperation but also evidence for the “extra-human” origins of morality, including the capacity to act for the good of the many. Humans and nonhumans did not merely evolve alongside one another; they co-evolved, sharing an intertwined evolutionary history and socially learned behaviors. Kropotkin also recognized that many nonhuman species exhibit empathy, engage in play, form bonds of affection, and collaborate toward shared goals – remarkably achieving these ends without force, centralized authority, or contract. The patterns of free association and interdependence he observed among animals were mirrored in diverse forms of commoning and fraternity found in human societies. This dual insight – that species co-evolve and that cooperation, not domination, underpins social and ecological life – formed the foundation of Kropotkin’s theory of anarchism. By acknowledging the common origin of nonhumans and humans, and the unity of all living matter, Kropotkin was able to pose the most important of political questions: what right does anyone have to rule over others? Keywords: anarchism, animal geographies, mutualism, political ecology, multispecies relations