New Read: Mutual Aid

I've finally started reading Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution by Petr Kropotkin, and after reading 20 pages, I'm already hooked. Here's a passage from the book:

"Love, sympathy and self-sacrifice certainly play an immense part in the progressive development of our moral feelings. But it is not love and not even sympathy upon which society is based in mankind.

"It is the conscience--be it only at the stage of an instinct--of human solidarity. It is the unconscious recognition of the force that is borrowed by each man from the practice of mutual aid; of the close dependency of every one's happiness upon the happiness of all; and of the sense of justice, or equity, which brings the individual to consider the rights of every other individual as equal to his own."

The political and philosophical concepts of Anarchism have been at the forefront of my studies recently, coupled with my all-time favorite subjects: Philosophy, sociology, psych, and culture. With everything we've done (good and bad) as a species, I can't help but be absolutely intrigued by all things human. How did we get to where we are? What human traits are within each and every one of us, and which of those do we consciously or unconsciously ignore? And how does that impact our individual and collective happiness, our way of living, our world? I have so many questions. And as I begin to find answers, I'll be sure to share them with y'all!

Oh and big announcement (Okay, not that big): Yours truly is going to the beach tomorrow! For the first time in I don't know how long! I really need this time away from technology, and away from my books, to get some fresh air and sunshine. Many photos to come, I'm sure. :)