Thomas Rainsborough & the 375th Anniversary of The Putney Debates – ‘Radical References’ No.4
Channel: ramblinactivist
Date: 29/10/2022

Ramblinactivist 2022/34, 29th October 2022.

As British people currently wrestle with the reality that they do not have the power to choose the governing executive of their nation – and that their representation is in actuality in name only, and renders little political control – it’s fitting that we celebrate the 375th anniversary of one of the significant events of English history... and the 374th anniversary of Thomas Rainsborough’s death.

Across political history, The Putney Debates are significant because they represent one of the first instances where representatives of ordinary people discussed the fundamental nature of the state which governed them.

What follows, then, is an edited form of Thomas Rainsborough’s speeches during The Putney Debates; edited to give a sense to the political consciousness of The Levellers at that time, so that we may contrast what progress has been made over the last 375 years. At that time, what Rainsborough said was ‘revolutionary’. The notion of taking political power from our modern economic elite is, today, equally revolutionary.

For the extensively referenced text and an audio podcast of this post, goto:
http://www.fraw.org.uk/lwap/files/004/index.shtml

You can find more of these reviews in ‘Radical References’ here:
http://www.fraw.org.uk/lwap/files/index.shtml

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Chapters:
00:00 Opening titles
00:29 Introduction to The Putney Debates
04:22 Extracts from Thomas Rainsborough’s speeches
07:04 Closing credits

#politicalhistory  #putneydebates #levellers #english #civilwar #politics #representation #inequality