PAPER1 |
ANARCHISM’S MUTUAL AID IN TIMES OF CRISIS – AND BEYOND?
I. PAPER QUESTION
Since the onset of Covid, the work of anarchist Petr Kropotkin and the promise of ‘mutual aid’ gained traction. So-called mutual-aid networks – ‘neighbors helping neighbors’ – emerged across the US (and elsewhere) to offer a system of support to vulnerable communities and individuals in need during the pandemic. Kropotkin was convinced: people helping people is not only the ethical thing to do; it is also an innate feature of human nature.
1. READ the article https://theconversation.com/this-anarchist-thinker-helps-explain-why-we-feel-so-driven-to-help-each-other-through-the-coronavirus-crisis-134494
2. EXAMINE the concept of mutual aid by considering the following questions:
According to Kropotkin, how can we explain the emergence of mutual aid networks as described in the article?
The article ponders the longer-term relevance of mutual aid networks – does mutual aid only emerge in response to a crisis? How does Kropoktin’s work shed light on the possibility of a systemic mutual aid society?
3. “Empty supermarket shelves and panicked governments briefings” stands in stark contrast to “neighbors-helping-neighbors”. Those empty shelves seem to confirm predictions made by Thomas Hobbes who assumed that life is marked by self-interested individuals and often violent competition. DISCUSS to what extent Hobbes’ work may provide explanation for some of the defining images of anxiety and uncertainty during the pandemic.
4. GENERATE a concluding assessment.
Are you convinced by the differing perspectives rooted in Hobbes’ and Kropotkin’ thought? Is life ‘short and brutish’ or marked by ‘mutual aid’?
II. NOTES ABOUT PAPERS
About papers:
– Papers are not summaries or reviews; the overall objective is to evaluate the material and to critically assess your relationship with key political concepts and ideas. Therefore, papers should be interpretative in nature, and you are asked to appraise concepts, analyze their role and importance, and recommend how we may need to understand , question, accept, or deny these concepts.
– Stay away from lengthy descriptions, and include only material that you are willing to engage with in detail.
– Papers should have an opening paragraph that sets out the overall objective of your paper, and the steps you will take in your paper to achieve that objective. Be clear about the overall take-away.
-You can address each point in the paper question separately, or in a single narrative.
-Papers can use the first person narrative – eg. “I agree with Hobbes”.
– Papers are at their best when they engage in reflection and analysis.
Format |
Papers should be around ~1000 words long (+/- 10%).
Papers should offer a clear introduction of the main arguments and steps taken in the paper.
Papers should have traces of the reading material and our class themes and discussions.
It is not necessary to include additional material or research – but you may do so. If you do use additional resources, make sure to reference those accordingly.