Book #14 for 2024, with which I have exceeded in just under six months my tally for the whole of last year… anyway, I thought it was probably time I not only read a classic, but a classic of politics which is something I rarely do read, and Kropotkin strikes me as an interesting figure, an actual Russian aristocrat who turned his back on all that in favour of anarcho-communism… I am not exactly the most advanced political thinker; I am basically in favour of decency towards humanity, and I suspect social democracy or democratic socialism (never can tell the difference, assuming one exists) is probably what I lean towards most as far as that goes, so I’m not 100% in tune with Kropotkin’s particular vision. That vision, it must be said, is kind of grand and well-expressed; I think the overall analysis of how capitalism and concentration of wealth and resources into a few hands fucks over the majority of people and holds back progress seemed solid and the vision of how much better things could be under Kropotkin’s form of anarcho-communism is an attractive one (though, to be sure, the book gets somewhat bogged as it goes on in the more exact details and welter of figures).
Which is why I wish I could believe in it more than I do… unfortunately I’m a lot less optimistic than him about the disappearance of the state; it may not be necessary as such but I don’t think it’s going away in any hurry… and Kropotkin acknowledges the utopian dimension of his thought, but remains evidently convinced that the outcome of the revolution he foresees will necessarily be the one he describes. History, alas, notably proved at least some of his predictions were dubious (particularly the one about an authoritarian socialist regime collapsing quickly in the face of the people revolting against it), and I think the optimism of his vision (particularly is somewhat romantic and sentimentalised… plus I’m also also kind of bothered that he has practically nothing to say about people unable to work (as opposed to the unwilling, who he’s happy to cast out), saying instead no one is so weak of body they can’t at least take care of a machine. I don’t find that encouraging somehow.
But, in fairness, I do think some of his basic principles aren’t wrong, namely that any successful revolution is going to have to be led by the actual people, and that any revolution which doesn’t start by considering how said people are going to actually live during the period of upheaval, and how they’ll get food, shelter, clothing etc, is kind of fucked from the outset. So there are some things in here I do find myself sympathising with, even if just on the “vibe” level. I also have Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid, so I’ll read that at some point soon too. Just wonder if I should’ve gone with that first now…
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