The Law of Freedom in a Platform

The Law of Freedom in a Platform, or True Magistracy Restored is a six-chapter book (described in the English of the time as a 'pamphlet') published in 1652 by the English religious reformer Gerrard Winstanley, a participant in the Diggers movement. In the book he argued that, under a Christian basis for society, private property should be abolished. In keeping with Winstanley's adherence to biblical models, the tract envisages a communist society, establishing the beginnings of modern Christian socialism.

The book is dedicated to Oliver Cromwell, whom Winstanley hope to persuade on his proposals for a new government. On 21 April 1652, Cromwell read a censored version of the text and reportedly sympathised with some of the proposed reforms. Winstanley argues in the book that the fall of monarchy is inevitable, citing as his evidence passages concerning the Fall of Babylon in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation.

In the book, Winstanley proposed a system of collective labour. Overseers would ensure that everybody would complete their share of the tasks. The refusal of work would be punished by a loss of civil right for those who refuse to work, and by impressing these dissidents into forced labour.