28 Books like Mutual Aid

Demanding the Impossible

by Peter H. Marshall • 1992

Self-rule predates the state. Anarchist thought from ancient Taoism to the modern era.

4.12

1k+

🏴 Anarchist Thought 🌿 Spontaneous Order ✊ Anti-Authoritarianism 🤝 Mutual Aid 🗳️ Self-Governance

Demanding the Impossible 94%

Self-rule predates the state. Anarchist thought from ancient Taoism to the modern era.

by Peter H. Marshall 1992

4.12

1k+ ratings

🏴 Anarchist Thought 🌿 Spontaneous Order ✊ Anti-Authoritarianism 🤝 Mutual Aid 🗳️ Self-Governance

The Origins of Virtue

by Matt Ridley • 1997

Society did not tame our selfish instincts. Selfish genes built our capacity for cooperation.

4.03

4k+

🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🤝 Human Cooperation 🎲 Game Theory 📖 Sociobiology

The Origins of Virtue 93%

Society did not tame our selfish instincts. Selfish genes built our capacity for cooperation.

by Matt Ridley 1997

4.03

4k+ ratings

🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🤝 Human Cooperation 🎲 Game Theory 📖 Sociobiology

Practical Anarchism

by Shuli Branson • 2022

Steal back your time, break up with what drains you, and build a life outside capitalism.

3.94

298

🏴 Anarchist Living 🤝 Mutual Aid 🛑 Work Abolition 🗣️ Consent Culture 🌱 Radical Self-Help

Practical Anarchism 93%

Steal back your time, break up with what drains you, and build a life outside capitalism.

by Shuli Branson 2022

3.94

298 ratings

🏴 Anarchist Living 🤝 Mutual Aid 🛑 Work Abolition 🗣️ Consent Culture 🌱 Radical Self-Help

The Social Instinct

by Nichola Raihani • 2021

Cooperation built life from genes to nations. The bill always lands on someone else.

3.90

670

🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🦴 Human Evolution 🤝 Cooperation 👥 Collective Action 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology

The Social Instinct 93%

Cooperation built life from genes to nations. The bill always lands on someone else.

by Nichola Raihani 2021

3.90

670 ratings

🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🦴 Human Evolution 🤝 Cooperation 👥 Collective Action 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology

Lifehouse

by Adam Greenfield • 2024

Votes and green tech won't stop climate collapse. The real plan: neighbors caring for each other.

3.84

🌱 Community Organizing 🤝 Mutual Aid Networks 🌍 Climate Adaptation 🗳️ Direct Democracy 🌿 Social Ecology

Lifehouse 93%

Votes and green tech won't stop climate collapse. The real plan: neighbors caring for each other.

by Adam Greenfield 2024

3.84

86 ratings

🌱 Community Organizing 🤝 Mutual Aid Networks 🌍 Climate Adaptation 🗳️ Direct Democracy 🌿 Social Ecology

This View of Life

by David Sloan Wilson • 2019

Social Darwinism got Darwin wrong. His real theory: cooperation, not competition, built humanity.

3.96

372

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🌍 Cultural Evolution 👥 Group Selection ⚡ Evolutionary Mismatch 🔄 Systems Thinking

This View of Life 92%

Social Darwinism got Darwin wrong. His real theory: cooperation, not competition, built humanity.

by David Sloan Wilson 2019

3.96

372 ratings

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🌍 Cultural Evolution 👥 Group Selection ⚡ Evolutionary Mismatch 🔄 Systems Thinking

The Social Conquest of Earth

by Edward O. Wilson • 2012

Human virtue and human genocide come from the same evolutionary force, and it's not kin selection.

4.02

4k+

🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🦴 Human Evolution 🏛️ Multilevel Selection ⚖️ Origins Of Morality 🛡️ Tribalism

The Social Conquest of Earth 92%

Human virtue and human genocide come from the same evolutionary force, and it's not kin selection.

by Edward O. Wilson 2012

4.02

4k+ ratings

🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🦴 Human Evolution 🏛️ Multilevel Selection ⚖️ Origins Of Morality 🛡️ Tribalism

The Conquest of Bread

by Pyotr Kropotkin • 1892

Plenty exists for everyone. The state and the wage are the only things in the way.

4.06

10k+

🏴 Anarchist Communism 🖤 Classical Anarchism 💸 Critique Of Wage Labor 🤲 Distribution By Need ✊ Revolutionary Theory

The Conquest of Bread 92%

Plenty exists for everyone. The state and the wage are the only things in the way.

by Pyotr Kropotkin 1892

4.06

10k+ ratings

🏴 Anarchist Communism 🖤 Classical Anarchism 💸 Critique Of Wage Labor 🤲 Distribution By Need ✊ Revolutionary Theory

What Is Property?

by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon • 1840

Every defense of private property, from first occupation to labor, logically requires its abolition.

3.78

2k+

🏛️ Political Economy 📜 Property Rights Ⓐ Anarchist Theory 💸 Economic Rent 🔨 Labor Theory Of Value

What Is Property? 92%

Every defense of private property, from first occupation to labor, logically requires its abolition.

by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 1840

3.78

2k+ ratings

🏛️ Political Economy 📜 Property Rights Ⓐ Anarchist Theory 💸 Economic Rent 🔨 Labor Theory Of Value

On Human Nature

by Edward O. Wilson • 1978

Evolution is our best mythology. The argument for anchoring ethics, art, and religion in biology.

4.14

4k+

🌿 Evolutionary Biology 🐝 Sociobiology 🧬 Human Nature ⚔️ Nature Vs Nurture 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology

On Human Nature 92%

Evolution is our best mythology. The argument for anchoring ethics, art, and religion in biology.

by Edward O. Wilson 1978

4.14

4k+ ratings

🌿 Evolutionary Biology 🐝 Sociobiology 🧬 Human Nature ⚔️ Nature Vs Nurture 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology

The Dawn of Everything

by David Graeber • 2021

The story of human progress was built to bury indigenous challenges to European society.

4.19

27k+

🌍 Big History 💡 Intellectual History ✊🏽 Decolonizing History 🗣️ Indigenous Philosophy 🏴 Anarchist Anthropology

The Dawn of Everything 91%

The story of human progress was built to bury indigenous challenges to European society.

by David Graeber 2021

4.19

27k+ ratings

🌍 Big History 💡 Intellectual History ✊🏽 Decolonizing History 🗣️ Indigenous Philosophy 🏴 Anarchist Anthropology

Age of Empathy

by Frans de Waal • 2009

Empathy isn't a human invention. It's an animal legacy, and a primatologist has the evidence.

4.00

3k+

🐒 Primatology 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🐘 Animal Cognition ⚖️ Origins Of Morality 🤝 Cooperation Evolution

Age of Empathy 91%

Empathy isn't a human invention. It's an animal legacy, and a primatologist has the evidence.

by Frans de Waal 2009

4.00

3k+ ratings

🐒 Primatology 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🐘 Animal Cognition ⚖️ Origins Of Morality 🤝 Cooperation Evolution

Blueprint

by Nicholas A. Christakis • 2019

Goodness is our default setting. Evolution built us for love, friendship, and cooperation.

3.95

2k+

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🌐 Human Universals 🏛️ Cultural Anthropology 📜 Cultural Evolution 🕸️ Social Networks

Blueprint 91%

Goodness is our default setting. Evolution built us for love, friendship, and cooperation.

by Nicholas A. Christakis 2019

3.95

2k+ ratings

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🌐 Human Universals 🏛️ Cultural Anthropology 📜 Cultural Evolution 🕸️ Social Networks

The Expanding Circle

by Peter Singer • 1981

Morality started with vampire bats, not God. Reason is taking it further than evolution ever could.

4.02

626

🧬 Evolutionary Ethics 📈 Moral Progress ⚖️ Utilitarianism 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🤝 Altruism

The Expanding Circle 91%

Morality started with vampire bats, not God. Reason is taking it further than evolution ever could.

by Peter Singer 1981

4.02

626 ratings

🧬 Evolutionary Ethics 📈 Moral Progress ⚖️ Utilitarianism 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🤝 Altruism

The Extended Phenotype

by Richard Dawkins • 1982

Genes don't stop at skin: a beaver dam is a genetic tool, like the teeth.

4.12

10k+

🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🎯 Gene-Level Selection 🔍 Adaptationism 🧠 Cultural Evolution 🦊 Animal Behavior

The Extended Phenotype 91%

Genes don't stop at skin: a beaver dam is a genetic tool, like the teeth.

by Richard Dawkins 1982

4.12

10k+ ratings

🧬 Evolutionary Biology 🎯 Gene-Level Selection 🔍 Adaptationism 🧠 Cultural Evolution 🦊 Animal Behavior

Nonzero

by Robert Wright

History bends toward cooperation, not because we're good, but because interdependence pays.

3.97

3k+

📜 Big History 🧬 Cultural Evolution 🤝 Evolution Of Cooperation 🏛️ Social Complexity 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology

Nonzero 91%

History bends toward cooperation, not because we're good, but because interdependence pays.

by Robert Wright

3.97

3k+ ratings

📜 Big History 🧬 Cultural Evolution 🤝 Evolution Of Cooperation 🏛️ Social Complexity 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology

Ultrasociety

by Peter Turchin • 2015

War did not just destroy. Over ten millennia, it built the greatest cooperators on Earth.

4.11

464

🧬 Cultural Evolution 📜 Big History 👥 Group Selection ⚔️ Warfare And Society 🏛️ State Formation

Ultrasociety 91%

War did not just destroy. Over ten millennia, it built the greatest cooperators on Earth.

by Peter Turchin 2015

4.11

464 ratings

🧬 Cultural Evolution 📜 Big History 👥 Group Selection ⚔️ Warfare And Society 🏛️ State Formation

Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times

by Stephen R. Covey • 2009

The West built its politics on a mistake: that humans are naturally selfish animals.

3.72

186

🏛️ Political Anthropology 🌍 Western Critique 🧠 Human Nature Debate 🌿 Nature Vs Culture 👥 Kinship Systems

Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times Summary

Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times 91%

The West built its politics on a mistake: that humans are naturally selfish animals.

by Stephen R. Covey 2009

3.72

186 ratings

🏛️ Political Anthropology 🌍 Western Critique 🧠 Human Nature Debate 🌿 Nature Vs Culture 👥 Kinship Systems

The Good-Enough Life

by Avram Alpert • 2022

Greatness culture exhausts us, shreds communities, and devours the planet. Sufficiency is the exit.

3.39

390

🧘 Sufficiency Philosophy 🔨 Anti-Perfectionism 🏛️ Critique Of Meritocracy 🌿 Degrowth Economics 🧬 Human Nature Debate

The Good-Enough Life 91%

Greatness culture exhausts us, shreds communities, and devours the planet. Sufficiency is the exit.

by Avram Alpert 2022

3.39

390 ratings

🧘 Sufficiency Philosophy 🔨 Anti-Perfectionism 🏛️ Critique Of Meritocracy 🌿 Degrowth Economics 🧬 Human Nature Debate

Anti-Tech Revolution

by Theodore John Kaczynski • 2016

The technological world system is a self-driving machine no one steers and nothing stops.

3.95

630

🏕️ Anarcho-Primitivism ✊ Revolutionary Theory 🔄 Systems Thinking 📉 Technological Collapse 🏛️ Civilization Critique

Anti-Tech Revolution 91%

The technological world system is a self-driving machine no one steers and nothing stops.

by Theodore John Kaczynski 2016

3.95

630 ratings

🏕️ Anarcho-Primitivism ✊ Revolutionary Theory 🔄 Systems Thinking 📉 Technological Collapse 🏛️ Civilization Critique

Civilized to Death

by Christopher Ryan • 2018

Agriculture made us sicker, more unequal, and less free. The hunter-gatherer way holds the clues.

4.12

5k+

🏹 Hunter-Gatherer Studies 🚫 Myth Of Progress ⚠️ Civilization's Costs 🧬 Evolutionary Mismatch 🤝 Forager Egalitarianism

Civilized to Death 91%

Agriculture made us sicker, more unequal, and less free. The hunter-gatherer way holds the clues.

by Christopher Ryan 2018

4.12

5k+ ratings

🏹 Hunter-Gatherer Studies 🚫 Myth Of Progress ⚠️ Civilization's Costs 🧬 Evolutionary Mismatch 🤝 Forager Egalitarianism

The Bonobo and the Atheist

by Frans de Waal • 2013

Chimps console, capuchins reject unfair pay; morality was ancient before religion claimed it.

4.15

6k+

🐒 Primatology ⚖️ Origins Of Morality 🫂 Animal Empathy 🤝 Evolution Of Cooperation 📊 Social Hierarchy

The Bonobo and the Atheist 91%

Chimps console, capuchins reject unfair pay; morality was ancient before religion claimed it.

by Frans de Waal 2013

4.15

6k+ ratings

🐒 Primatology ⚖️ Origins Of Morality 🫂 Animal Empathy 🤝 Evolution Of Cooperation 📊 Social Hierarchy

Two Cheers for Anarchism

by James C. Scott • 2012

The anarchist's case: local know-how, small defiance, and messy disorder beat grand plans.

3.96

2k+

🏴 Anarchist Thought 🏛️ State Critique 📜 Local Knowledge ✊ Political Resistance 📊 Quantification Critique

Two Cheers for Anarchism 91%

The anarchist's case: local know-how, small defiance, and messy disorder beat grand plans.

by James C. Scott 2012

3.96

2k+ ratings

🏴 Anarchist Thought 🏛️ State Critique 📜 Local Knowledge ✊ Political Resistance 📊 Quantification Critique

Wired for Culture

by Mark Pagel • 2012

Culture isn't a byproduct of big brains. It's the reason we have them.

3.86

296

🦴 Evolutionary Anthropology 🔄 Cultural Evolution 👥 Social Learning 📚 Cumulative Culture 🤝 Group Cooperation

Wired for Culture 91%

Culture isn't a byproduct of big brains. It's the reason we have them.

by Mark Pagel 2012

3.86

296 ratings

🦴 Evolutionary Anthropology 🔄 Cultural Evolution 👥 Social Learning 📚 Cumulative Culture 🤝 Group Cooperation

The Ape that Understood the Universe

by Steve Stewart-Williams • 2018

You don't own your desires. They belong to your genes and the ideas colonizing your mind.

4.23

2k+

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 📜 Cultural Evolution 💘 Mating Strategies 👶 Parental Investment 🤝 Altruism

The Ape that Understood the Universe Summary

The Ape that Understood the Universe 91%

You don't own your desires. They belong to your genes and the ideas colonizing your mind.

by Steve Stewart-Williams 2018

4.23

2k+ ratings

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 📜 Cultural Evolution 💘 Mating Strategies 👶 Parental Investment 🤝 Altruism

How We Became Human

by Tim Dean • 2021

Your sense of right and wrong evolved for the Stone Age. It's time for an upgrade.

3.90

114

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology ⚖️ Moral Philosophy 📜 Cultural Evolution 🧩 Cognitive Biases 🏕️ Tribalism

How We Became Human 91%

Your sense of right and wrong evolved for the Stone Age. It's time for an upgrade.

by Tim Dean 2021

3.90

114 ratings

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology ⚖️ Moral Philosophy 📜 Cultural Evolution 🧩 Cognitive Biases 🏕️ Tribalism

The Penguin and the Leviathan

by Yochai Benkler • 2011

Economic models assume selfishness. Brain scans, blood banks, and Wikipedia tell a different story.

3.70

351

🧠 Behavioral Economics 🧬 Evolutionary Psychology 💡 Intrinsic Motivation 👥 Social Norms 🌐 Online Collaboration

The Penguin and the Leviathan 91%

Economic models assume selfishness. Brain scans, blood banks, and Wikipedia tell a different story.

by Yochai Benkler 2011

3.70

351 ratings

🧠 Behavioral Economics 🧬 Evolutionary Psychology 💡 Intrinsic Motivation 👥 Social Norms 🌐 Online Collaboration

The Science of Good and Evil

by Michael Shermer • 2004

Good and evil are evolutionary strategies, and science can decipher them.

3.91

3k+

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🤝 Evolution Of Morality ✨ Secular Ethics 🔬 Moral Psychology 🕊️ Altruism

The Science of Good and Evil 91%

Good and evil are evolutionary strategies, and science can decipher them.

by Michael Shermer 2004

3.91

3k+ ratings

🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🤝 Evolution Of Morality ✨ Secular Ethics 🔬 Moral Psychology 🕊️ Altruism

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