Mutualism is an
economic theory and
anarchist school of thought that advocates a society where each person might possess a
means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labor in the
free market. Integral to the scheme was the establishment of a
mutual-credit bank that would lend to producers at a minimal interest rate, just high enough to cover administration. Mutualism is based on a
labor theory of value that holds that when labor or its product is sold, in exchange, it ought to receive goods or services embodying "the amount of labor necessary to produce an article of exactly similar and equal utility". Mutualism originated from the writings of philosopher
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon.