isinherited many might reclaim their inheritance, and
that without infringing on the established rights or the property of the
rich: proposals, be it remembered, which, if acted on, would have
altered the whole future economic history of Great Britain. Before
judging of their efficacy, we should bear in mind that at the time he
was writing, before the era of Enclosure Acts, over a third of England
was still common land. However, whatever opinion may be held on this
point, there can be no denying the lucidity and incisiveness of his
words: he says:

"But be it so that some will say, This is my land, and call such
and such a parcel of land his own interest.... Therefore, if the
rich still hold fast to this propriety of Mine and Thine, let them
labor their own lands with their own hands. And let the common
people, that say the earth is _ours_, not _mine_, let them labor
together, and eat bread together upon the commons, mountains, and
hills."

Such, then, was the proposal by which Winstanley deemed the relative
merits of Individualism and Communism, as a system of social union,
might best be tested, and which he immediately proceeded to defend in
the following words:

"For as the enclosures are called such a man's land, and such a
man's land, so the Commons and Heath are called the common
people's. And let the world see who labor the Earth in
righteousness, and those to whom the Lord gives the blessing, let
them be the people that shall inherit the Earth. Whether they that
hold a civil propriety, saying, This is mine, which is selfish,
devilish, and destructive to the Creation; or those that hold a
common right, saying, The Earth is ours, which lifts up the
Creation from bondage."

Further, he contends that if his proposals were acted on--

"None can say their right is taken from them. For let the rich work
alone by themselves; and let the poor work together by themselves.
The rich in their enclosures, saying, _This is mine_; and the poor
upon the Commons, saying, _This is ours, the Earth and its fruits
are common_. And who can be offended at the poor for doing this?
None but covetous, proud, idle, pampered flesh, that would have the
poor work still for this devil (particular interest) to maintain
his greatness that he may live at ease."

And after expressing his intense conviction that "Surely the