Mutual Aid: A Factor of EvolutionKropotkin, Petr Alekseevich, kniaz
Science
Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution
Kropotkin, Petr Alekseevich, kniaz
Cooperation; Social groups; Social institutions
In connection with co-operation, I ought perhaps to mention also the
friendly societies, the unities of oddfellows, the village and town
clubs organized for meeting the doctors' bills, the dress and burial
clubs, the small clubs very common among factory girls, to which they
contribute a few pence every week, and afterwards draw by lot the sum of
one pound, which can at least be used for some substantial purchase, and
many others. A not inconsiderable amount of sociable or jovial spirit is
alive in all such societies and clubs, even though the "credit and
debit" of each member are closely watched over. But there are so many
associations based on the readiness to sacrifice time, health, and life
if required, that we can produce numbers of illustrations of the best
forms of mutual support.
The Lifeboat Association in this country, and similar institutions on
the Continent, must be mentioned in the first place. The former has now
over three hundred boats along the coasts of these isles, and it would
have twice as many were it not for the poverty of the fisher men, who
cannot afford to buy lifeboats. The crews consist, however, of
volunteers, whose readiness to sacrifice their lives for the rescue of
absolute strangers to them is put every year to a severe test; every
winter the loss of several of the bravest among them stands on record.
And if we ask these men what moves them to risk their lives, even when
there is no reasonable chance of success, their answer is something on
the following lines. A fearful snowstorm, blowing across the Channel,
raged on the flat, sandy coast of a tiny village in Kent, and a small
smack, laden with oranges, stranded on the sands near by. In these
shallow waters only a flat-bottomed lifeboat of a simplified type can be
kept, and to launch it during such a storm was to face an almost certain
disaster. And yet the men went out, fought for hours against the wind,
and the boat capsized twice. One man was drowned, the others were cast
ashore. One of these last, a refined coastguard, was found next morning,
badly bruised and half frozen in the snow. I asked him, how they came to
make that desperate attempt? "I don't know myself," was his reply."
There was the wreck; all the people from the village stood on the beach,
and all said it would be foolish to go out; we never should work through
the surf. We saw five or six men clinging to the mast, making desperate
signals. We all felt that something must be done, but what could we do?
One hour passed, two hours, and we all stood there. We all felt most
uncomfortable. Then, all of a sudden, through the storm, it seemed to us
as if we heard their cries--they had a boy with them. We could not stand
that any longer. All at once we said, "We must go!" The women said so
too; they would have treated us as cowards if we had not gone, although
next day they said we had been fools to go. As one man, we rushed to the
boat, and went. The boat capsized, but we took hold of it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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