The strongest riposte to the dog-eat-dog vision of “Nature, red in tooth and claw” came from the Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin in his bestselling book Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, in 1902. In it, he stresses that “sociability” was as much a part of nature as the struggle for existence. Based on his interpretation of nature, he advocated a clear message: “Don’t compete!” “Practice mutual aid! That is the surest means of giving to each and to all the greatest safety, the best guarantee of existence and progress, bodily, intellectual, and moral.”
