Consistently Eccentric History

Gerrard Winstanley - Digging the idea of communism


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This week we are delving into the brief period when Britain was a republic, and when anything seemed possible...


At least it did to Gerrard Winstanley, a failed businessman who took the promise of more equality to the extreme when he founded a commune in Surrey with the belief that God had told him to prove to the people of England that private property was against the teachings of Jesus.


Regardless of if this was true or not, the local landowners were not about to let Gerrard potentially prove that communal living without any attempt to profit off your fellow man could work, so they wrote to the new republic government and soon the head of the army became involved.


So join us for a story of naive optimism in the face of state power and vested interests as we see if anyone in the country actually dug the Diggers.


Guest Host: Pam Loetterle

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Consistently Eccentric HistoryBy Joe Heathcote

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