The Law of Freedom in a Platform
Gerrard Winstanley (1609 – 10 September 1676) was an English Protestant religious reformer and political activist during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. Winstanley was one of the founders of the English group known as the True Levellers for their beliefs, based upon Christian communism, and as the Diggers for their actions because they took over public lands and dug them over to plant crops. They self-identified as True Levellers, while the Digger name was coined by their contemporaries.
Gerrard Winstanley published a pamphlet called The New Law of Righteousness, which advocated a form of Christian communism. The basis of this communistic belief came from the Book of Acts, chapter two, verses 44 and 45: "All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need." Winstanley argued that "in the beginning of time God made the earth. Not one word was spoken at the beginning that one branch of mankind should rule over another, but selfish imaginations did set up one man to teach and rule over another." Winstanley took as his basic texts the Biblical sacred history, with its affirmation that all men were descended from a common stock, and with its scepticism about the rulership of kings, voiced in the Books of Samuel; and the New Testament's affirmations that God was no respecter of persons, that there were no masters or slaves, Jews or Gentiles, male or female, under the New Covenant. From these and similar texts, he interpreted Christian teaching as calling for what would later be called communism, and the abolition of property and aristocracy.
In The Law of Freedom in a Platform, Winstanley envisions a future without money or such extreme laws of private property. It hearkens back to a day when there was no need for a police force because the basic needs, water, food, shelter etc. were met in a rural based economy. Winstanley was aware that the English Civil War meant a consolidation of power for the Merchant Classes and Landowners and he predicted the misery and corruption to come. This vision is probably the most radical and best thought trough Utopian vision in the English language.
This edition of The Law of Freedom in a Platform is specially formatted with a Table of Contents.
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Gerrard Winstanley published a pamphlet called The New Law of Righteousness, which advocated a form of Christian communism. The basis of this communistic belief came from the Book of Acts, chapter two, verses 44 and 45: "All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need." Winstanley argued that "in the beginning of time God made the earth. Not one word was spoken at the beginning that one branch of mankind should rule over another, but selfish imaginations did set up one man to teach and rule over another." Winstanley took as his basic texts the Biblical sacred history, with its affirmation that all men were descended from a common stock, and with its scepticism about the rulership of kings, voiced in the Books of Samuel; and the New Testament's affirmations that God was no respecter of persons, that there were no masters or slaves, Jews or Gentiles, male or female, under the New Covenant. From these and similar texts, he interpreted Christian teaching as calling for what would later be called communism, and the abolition of property and aristocracy.
In The Law of Freedom in a Platform, Winstanley envisions a future without money or such extreme laws of private property. It hearkens back to a day when there was no need for a police force because the basic needs, water, food, shelter etc. were met in a rural based economy. Winstanley was aware that the English Civil War meant a consolidation of power for the Merchant Classes and Landowners and he predicted the misery and corruption to come. This vision is probably the most radical and best thought trough Utopian vision in the English language.
This edition of The Law of Freedom in a Platform is specially formatted with a Table of Contents.
The Law of Freedom in a Platform
Gerrard Winstanley (1609 – 10 September 1676) was an English Protestant religious reformer and political activist during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. Winstanley was one of the founders of the English group known as the True Levellers for their beliefs, based upon Christian communism, and as the Diggers for their actions because they took over public lands and dug them over to plant crops. They self-identified as True Levellers, while the Digger name was coined by their contemporaries.
Gerrard Winstanley published a pamphlet called The New Law of Righteousness, which advocated a form of Christian communism. The basis of this communistic belief came from the Book of Acts, chapter two, verses 44 and 45: "All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need." Winstanley argued that "in the beginning of time God made the earth. Not one word was spoken at the beginning that one branch of mankind should rule over another, but selfish imaginations did set up one man to teach and rule over another." Winstanley took as his basic texts the Biblical sacred history, with its affirmation that all men were descended from a common stock, and with its scepticism about the rulership of kings, voiced in the Books of Samuel; and the New Testament's affirmations that God was no respecter of persons, that there were no masters or slaves, Jews or Gentiles, male or female, under the New Covenant. From these and similar texts, he interpreted Christian teaching as calling for what would later be called communism, and the abolition of property and aristocracy.
In The Law of Freedom in a Platform, Winstanley envisions a future without money or such extreme laws of private property. It hearkens back to a day when there was no need for a police force because the basic needs, water, food, shelter etc. were met in a rural based economy. Winstanley was aware that the English Civil War meant a consolidation of power for the Merchant Classes and Landowners and he predicted the misery and corruption to come. This vision is probably the most radical and best thought trough Utopian vision in the English language.
This edition of The Law of Freedom in a Platform is specially formatted with a Table of Contents.
Gerrard Winstanley published a pamphlet called The New Law of Righteousness, which advocated a form of Christian communism. The basis of this communistic belief came from the Book of Acts, chapter two, verses 44 and 45: "All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need." Winstanley argued that "in the beginning of time God made the earth. Not one word was spoken at the beginning that one branch of mankind should rule over another, but selfish imaginations did set up one man to teach and rule over another." Winstanley took as his basic texts the Biblical sacred history, with its affirmation that all men were descended from a common stock, and with its scepticism about the rulership of kings, voiced in the Books of Samuel; and the New Testament's affirmations that God was no respecter of persons, that there were no masters or slaves, Jews or Gentiles, male or female, under the New Covenant. From these and similar texts, he interpreted Christian teaching as calling for what would later be called communism, and the abolition of property and aristocracy.
In The Law of Freedom in a Platform, Winstanley envisions a future without money or such extreme laws of private property. It hearkens back to a day when there was no need for a police force because the basic needs, water, food, shelter etc. were met in a rural based economy. Winstanley was aware that the English Civil War meant a consolidation of power for the Merchant Classes and Landowners and he predicted the misery and corruption to come. This vision is probably the most radical and best thought trough Utopian vision in the English language.
This edition of The Law of Freedom in a Platform is specially formatted with a Table of Contents.
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940013083899 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Charles River Editors |
| Publication date: | 08/28/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Sales rank: | 859,987 |
| File size: | 97 KB |
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