Brian Oliver writes:
>        I've heard writers mention that it may have been more than
>coincedence
>that the theory of Darwinism was established under a capitalist
>government (England), and that, at the same time, rather than basing
>theories on competition, Russian scientists were exploring the progress
>of species in terms of cooperation and voluntary aid.
>        Peter Kropotkin wrote:

Well, let's not exaggerate.  Kropotkin was a big fan of Darwin.  He thought
his insights on evolution were a tremendous breakthrough in biology, as do
most biologists today, I believe.  What Kropotkin objected to was the
reductionist darwinism and *social darwinism* preached by others; who, I
would agree, were probably influenced by the need to justify the inequities
of the politico-economic system of the time.

There are few today who would argue that evolution works through the
"success" of organisms in passing on their genes--Gould certainly subscribes
to this, I think. Kropotkin's insight (and Gould has a great essay called
"Kropotkin was no crackpot") was that this success can be enhanced by
cooperation among members of a species.  Whereas non-cooperation could lead
to the death of all individuals of a species, cooperations allows these
individuals to flourish.  Just think of the penguins of the Antarctic (I
forget which species) who huddle together for warmth and allow those on the
outside to move in when they get too cold.

It's obvious that the "success" of the human species is a result of the
cooperation of individual humans, even if that cooperation often has a
coercive element.  The knowledge transmitted from person to person and
generation to generation--from how to make fire to how to subscribe to a
listserv--are what has led to the billions of individuals now inhabiting the
earth.  Try living alone in the wilderness and this becomes painfully clear
(like when you break your leg or are too sick to gather food).

Now, I would say that there is still an element of our "human nature" that is
competitive, but one of the more important aspects of being human, the
ability to reason and plan, should allow us to modify our behavior in such as
way as to mitigate the unpleasant consequences of competition (war and
destruction for instance), while allowing the good bits, like seeing who can
figure out a better way to grow more food.  That's the challenge, IMHO.