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The London Hanged is one of those works that examines history from the bottom up, rather than top-down, as befits someone who has collaborated with EP Thompson (The Making of the English Working Class) and has been said by some to be worthy of taking up his mantle. What Linebaugh has done is to examine closely the records of all those hanged in London during the 18th century and draw some fascinating conclusions: namely, that the death penalty came to be used not so much as a deterrent against witchcraft and treason (accusations of which were more common in earlier times) as a specific response to new of property rights. The country was becoming fully capitalistic, and a loosely barter-based economy was becoming a money economy. An ordered market was becoming a free market.

However, in its early days there were a few rather serious teething problems. Basically, no one in the working classes was being paid enough. In earlier times, workers were allowed perquisites - they could dip into the produce they were responsible for and expect a blind eye to be turned. As money became tighter and trade became more profit-driven, this practice became frowned on. In 1734, one Jacob Vanderlint wrote a tract called Money Answers All Things - nice title - and broke down a typical labourer's expenses and income. There was a shortfall, and very often this was taken up by crime. And in reply, the ruling class cracked down: execution became a kind of unspoken fiscal policy.

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