type of FEDERALISM. In this arrangement, political deci-
sions were to be made democratically through discus-
sion and decision directly by the people, while the
administration of these decisions were to be imple-
mented by various boards and commissions.
Kropotkin’s adherence to federalism is supported by
his theory of mutual aid. In his book Mutual Aid
(1902), Kropotkin utilized his scientific training to
present an evolutionary theory that holds that human
beings are naturally social animals whose sociability
has been corrupted by authoritarian social institutions.
In contrast to neo-Darwinian evolutionists, Kropotkin
argued that cooperation rather than competition or
conflict is the primary characteristic of both animal
and human nature. Moreover, he suggested that social
revolutions are a part of the evolutionary process and
that anarchism seeks to bring humans back into a
more natural form of social organization. This theme is
presented also in his earlier The Conquest of Bread
(1892), where Kropotkin described how an anarchist
form of federalism grounded on mutual cooperation
would be preferable to a form of centralized, state
SOCIALISM. In a variety of areas, such as and agriculture
the production of food and clothing, he then detailed
how it was possible to avoid oppressive social arrange-
ments by following the alternative of anarchism. In
Kropotkin’s view, an anarchist society would promote
“a new harmony, the initiative of each and all, the dar-
ing which springs from the awakening of a people’s
genius.”
Further Reading
Woodcock, G., and Avakumovic, I. Peter Kr opotkin: From Prince
to Rebel.Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1990.Kulturkampf
An incident in 19th-century German CHURCH-AND-
STATErelations in which the Prussian ruler (Bismarck)
forced anti-CATHOLIC practices and legislation on the
German confederacy. Fearing that the Roman Catholic
HIERARCHY would weaken the German empire, Bis-
marck suppressed the Catholic department of the Min-
istry of Public Worship, expelled the Jesuits from the
country, imposed state control over education, abol-
ished monasteries, and imprisoned several Catholic
bishops. Unlike similar actions in England under King
HENRY VIII, this Kulturkampf met enormous resistance
by the German Catholic population and was sus-
pended. A concordat was made between Prussia and
the Vatican, the expulsion of Jesuits was reversed, and
by 1887 most anti-Catholic legislation was nullified.
The CONSERVATIVEpolitical elements in Germany saw
the Roman Catholic Church as an ally against rising
SOCIALIST, COMMUNIST, and SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC move-
ments. This episode stabilized the traditional church
and state relations in that part of Europe into the 20th
century.176 Kulturkampf