Commentary. Scientific Geography, Mutual Aid and Anticolonialism in Kropotkin

Abstract

When Piotr Kropotkin wrote "What geography ought to be" the European labor movement was in full swing, despite the repression of the different states against it. Its anarchist wing had a geographically very differentiated influence, but Kropotkin was one of its most influential leaders and intellectuals. This small work is key to understanding his positions regarding scientific geography, in which he advocates an approach to the natural sciences and a teaching on the ground, comprehensive and supportive. Mutual aid, which would favor the disappearance of wars, and anti-colonialism, decidedly anti-racist, are also part of the core of this writing. Interest in Kropotkin and anarchist geographies has not stopped growing since the 1970s, and numerous studies on mutual aid during the pandemic have recalled the works of the Russian geographer.