But why Diggers?I

History is a mirror for the present. In it's silent reflection we can learn lessons and see parallels in the world we live in today.

In England in the middle of the 17th century parliament had just fought a bloody war freeing the people from monarchy and rule by divine right. But as in a prequel to Orwell's Animal Farm. for the common man it was soon clear that nothing much had changed. The rich and noble still held sway, and enclosure of common land into private ownership was rife, a triumph of vested interest over common good.

It's against this background that Gerard Winstanley and the Diggers took over an area of common land to farm collectively. Winstanley wrote pamphlets arguing on moral and religious grounds against the exploitation of the poor and preached a new Commonwealth where the commons would 'be a treasury for all'

They're sometimes described as the first communists but today you can see them in a different light. Then as now

they are the 99%. Then as now they stood up against greed and the exploitation and monopolization of the commons.

Over the centuries people have always struggled against the inequality of power and money - the Diggers are just one chapter in that story. But as relevant today as it was in 1649.

Joining the Twitterati

Since #Cablegate hit the news I've been dipping into Twitter to catch the latest news.  At the same time I've been wondering about my blogging.  It seems harder these days to find the time to sit down and write - but at the same time there is lots of good stuff going on that I want to share.....

So now I can.  As from yesterday you can find me on Twitter ... @DiggersAll.

Stand Up Diggers All... Every Human Has Rights

"From the men of property the orders came; they sent the hired men & troopers to wipe out the Digger's claim"

Tomorrow is Human Rights Day.... it's a time when all of us should reflect on the privilege we enjoy in the rights we have, and the struggle of people around the world to live their lives without those rights.  I write a lot about the rights if privacy, and of free speech and what is happening in the digital world that may impact on all of us in the future - but there are more basic rights being ignored and flouted all over the globe. 

Today I'd like to highlight just one case - not because it's the worst rights abuse I could find - but because it stands square in the cause that the diggers fought for three hundred and sixty years ago.  Today in Venezuela
people are fighting for their basic right to protest against the vested interests of the state and the landowners

"On the one hand, police officers, the prosecutors and judges, on the other, hired killers led by landowners and business sectors, plus shock troops allied with national, regional and local governments regardless their political orientation, all form the triangle of repression to the social fight."

What are each of us doing to defend their rights against those that would deny them?

John Lilburne: Beauty and free thinking

I was delighted today to discover John Lilburne's blog....   He's been dead for 350 years... but what the heck...   great photos and a near endless supply of great quotes. 


Photo:  Freebornjohn #359

Hired men and troopers

"From the men of property the orders came; they sent the hired men & troopers to wipe out the Digger's claim"

Time's change, but some things stay the same...

Lyrics from Leon Rosselson

Levellers Day 2009

"On 17 May 1649, three soldiers were executed on Oliver Cromwell’s orders in Burford churchyard, Oxfordshire. They belonged to a movement popularly known as the Levellers, with beliefs in civil rights and religious tolerance."

The 35th annual Leveller's day will be held in Burford, Oxfordshire on May 16th. This year's theme is "The Energy Poverty Crisis"

Leveller's day is an assembly and procession in Burford to debate, listened to music and remembered the Levellers and the importance of holding on to ideals of justice and democracy.

A bit of a shame it's such a long way to go....

Sinners & Saints

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
"They dazzle us with Heaven and the damn us into hell"

The Diggers argued their position based on a religious ethic - which may have been a true belief or a pragmatic and necessary feature of 17th century political life. Religion is a subjective reality and a pretty poor base for an objective moral position. Nevertheless they clearly aim to expose the hypocracy and låck of compassion of the established church - with a vested interest in supporting the establishment to the detriment of the poor.
Politically the Diggers broke new ground - but perhaps their view on religion were just as novel?

To Dig & Sow

                   This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.

                                                                      
It's 360 years since Gerrard Winstanley and the Diggers earned their place in English history - with a political doctrine arguing for the rights for the common man to earn their keep from the land, working collectively and in common. They were turbulent times - the monarchy had fallen and been replaced by the English Commonwealth, but still a ruling elite were steadily seizing common land to private ownership - and the poor were starving.

The movement involved relatively few people but the political ideas they put forward - argued from their religious faith - have sent ripples down the centuries. Their tale is well told in Leon Roselssons 'The World Turned Up Side Down' - here on Youtube..

With 360 years being in some degree full circle I thought I'd mark the occassion with some work of my own - a series of watercolours of which this is the first....

A common treasury for all

A modern parable..