STRUGGLE AND MUTUAL AID 



have been buried alive. There are thousands of 

 facts like this, which show that there is much more 

 in the animal world than " Every one for himself 

 and extinction take the hindmost." There are 

 gregarious animals that live in flocks and herds, 

 like wild cattle and horses ; there are social creatures 

 that have genuine communities, such as beavers 

 and rooks. Apart from gregarious and social 

 animals, there is much co-operation. Little birds, 

 like wagtails, will combine to drive off a falcon, and 

 there are many instances of the disappointment of 

 birds of prey when they visit a lake-side crowded 

 with ducks and terns and plovers. It is quite certain 

 that success in the battle is not always to the strong. 

 Clever sociable birds, like rooks, cranes, and parrots 

 are very safe. As Prince Kropotkin said : "Mutual 

 aid /leads to mutual confidence, the first condition 

 for courage, and to individual initiative, the first 

 condition for intellectual progress." 



Of course it is true that mutual aid pays, and 

 that we do not know how far we dare use such a 

 word as " good " or " unselfish " in regard to 

 animals. But the fact is that a large part of the 

 time and energy of living creatures is devoted to 

 activities which make not for self-advancement 

 but for the welfare of the kind. So the struggle 

 for existence is much more than a squabble around 

 the platter, it rises into an endeavour after well- 

 being with others as well as self as its object. 

 If we look to Nature for lessons, we see unceasing 

 condemnation of slackness, of the " unlit lamp and 

 the ungirt loin," and unceasing reward of struggle and 



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