Story Three

　In Episode 2, we touched upon the principle of capitalism since the early modern period: investors, in pursuit of their own profits, force workers to compete to improve their productivity. Since this social structure has been built over centuries, we can say that we have grown up without questioning competition itself, just as the law of the jungle is the most natural custom for humans and animals alike. However, the 19th-century sociologist and biologist (also as Russian revolutionary and political thinker), P. Kropotkin, concluded from his extensive field observations:

"Mutual aid is a natural law, just as important as conflict, but perhaps it holds greater value as an element of evolution, promoting the development of habits and characteristics that should guarantee the survival and development of the species, and at the same time allowing each individual to attain the greatest happiness and enjoyment with the least effort." (Quoted from book [3-1], pages 28-29).

　In other words, even animals avoid pointless conflicts except for predation necessary for survival. Sometimes they escape and adapt to different habitats to survive through a form of non-competitive evolution, but fundamentally, they have survived by helping each other. This kind of social life in groups is widely observed in various animals.

While herds are normally scattered, they unite immediately when necessary, as seen in bison and other ruminants. And as this unity progresses further, it increasingly guarantees individual independence without sacrificing the benefits of social life." (Quoted from book [3-1], page 75).

　Human societies, similarly, are based on mutual assistance, and historically, kinship communities based on clans have evolved into territorial communities.

"The most primitive form of unity among our most distant human ancestors was not the family, but a society, group, or tribe." (Quoted from book [3-1], page 101).

"The existence of human societies is evidenced by the artifacts found from the Early and Late Stone Ages. And when we study modern primitives living in similar conditions to these Stone Age primitives, we see that they are closely bound together by the very ancient organization of clans, and through this organization, they combine the weak strengths of individuals and enjoy their communal life. Furthermore, it is evident that their way of life has progressed and developed. Humankind is no exception in the natural world. Humankind also grants the best chance of survival to those who know how to better help one another in the struggle for survival. This follows the great principle of 'mutual aid'." (Quoted from book [3-1], page 138).

"The barbarians of the first century of our era (like many Mongolias, Africans, Arabs, and other barbarians who remain barbaric to this day) are often considered warlike animals, but in reality, they always chose peace over war. (omitted) The earliest legal codes of the barbarians already show us that their society consisted not of crowds of people constantly at war with one another, but of peaceful agricultural village communities." (Quoted from book [3-1], pages 172-173).

　Subsequently, within the walled cities scattered throughout medieval Europe and elsewhere, republican self-governance (judicial and administrative functions) was practiced by guilds until the widespread practice of plunder in the early modern period.

"Wherever a group of people—fishermen, merchants, builders, or settled artisans—gathered with a common purpose, this same kind of unity inevitably arose. (omitted) They agreed to be equal in their relationships, to be simply human beings to one another, and to resolve any disputes before judges elected by all." (Quoted from Book [3-1], page 187).

"These medieval cities, surrounded by the territories of enemy feudal lords, unable to liberate their peasants, and gradually corrupted by Roman-style autocratic ideology, finally fell prey to the emerging armed states around the end of the 15th century." (Quoted from Book [3-1], page 237).

　In Japan, too, there were scattered republican societies based on consensus during the medieval period. For example, until their destruction during the Sengoku period, there were republics in Kaga, known for the Ikkō-ikki uprisings. For a hundred years, the country was known as 'a nation owned by the common people（百姓）', and there was even a rural city in Sakai, Osaka. Moreover, the main players were the common people including those engaged in occupations other than agriculture. There are many trades related to fishing, commerce, handicrafts, and performing arts flourished, it was not a self-sufficient society. Here, the hundred 'surnames（姓）' represent various occupations, and there were many itinerant people (such as monks and women, who were exempt from taxes at the time) who did not settle down but moved from country to country to make a living, and they seem to have possessed not only mobility but also wealth. The view that it was an agricultural and male-dominated society was instilled after the Meiji Restoration, which promoted modernization, and the reality was different.

"In the 'Records of Wa-Jinden', there are markets in every country. Goods and possessions are traded. (omitted) We must consider that society could not function without such a wide-ranging exchange of diverse products. (omitted) The distribution of archaeological sites and artifacts clearly shows that sea and river transport was the basis of transportation during this period. (omitted) It is thought that there were many transportation routes crossing the Japanese archipelago from an early stage." (Quoted from book [3-2], pages 280-281).

　This trade is also deeply connected to temples known as 'Muensho', where merchants and artisans of low social status gathered. They likely functioned as lodgings for itinerant travelers, fostering an understanding of the preciousness of life regardless of social status and creating a foundation for action against an unequal world.

"Because they are called Muensho because they are separated from worldly ties, if we consider them primarily in terms of land and territory, they appear to be temples with extremely weak financial foundations. Therefore, Many scholars view these temples as poor, but in reality, the 'Muensho' temples were run through finance and donations. (omitted) In the midst of the great social transformation of the 14th century, the nature of commerce, trade, and finance, which had once been supported by the magical authority of ancient gods and Buddhas, began to change. It can be considered that the Kamakura New Buddhism, unlike the gods and Buddhas of the past, began to move in the direction of imbuing commerce, finance, etc. with sacred meaning through new ways of thinking." (Quoted from book [3-2], pages 77-78).

　Trade by Kitamae ships that sailed from Hokkaido to the Sea of Japan and by pirates in the Seto Inland Sea is well known, but it seems that it had already spread not only domestically but also to Ryukyu, Korea, China, Northeast Asia, and Northeast Asia at that time. If they had not been destroyed in the process of unifying Japan during the Sengoku period, they may have formed a republican East Asian economic sphere and history might have been different. However, in reality, a centralized state was formed and controlled the entire archipelago, This marks the beginning of the Edo period.

　In Episode 4, we will explain that even after the Edo period, mutual assistance continued among the common people in Japan, and that the concept and practice of 'Houtoku' (a form of mutual assistance) is particularly important for solving problems in modern society.

Series: Learning about cutting-edge science and human history to prevent social division