Leader of the Diggers, or True Levellers, whose colony was forced to disband in 1650, Gerrard Winstanley stands out from a century remarkable for its development in political thought as one of the most fecund and original of political writers. An acute and penetrating social critic with a passionate sense of justice, he worked out a collectivist theory which strikingly anticipates nineteenth- and twentieth-century socialism. He was the first modern European thinker to write in the vernacular advocating a communist society, and to call upon ordinary people to realize it. Winstanley published a number of pamphlets on the colony's behalf, among them a summary of his ideas, published in 1652 as The Law of Freedom in a Platform and dedicated to Oliver Cromwell. Christopher Hill's selection from Winstanley's many published pamphlets demonstrates the coherence and social relevance of Winstanley's philosophy, while it reveals his mastery of colloquial prose and his superb use of imagery.

A selection from Winstanley's many published pamphlets on the behalf of the 'Diggers', led by Winstanley between 1649-50.

Book Information
ISBN 9780521031608
Author Christopher Hill
Format Paperback
Page Count 396
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 566g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 21mm