Fabian Society

The Fabian Society is a British socialist intellectual movement best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning in the late 19th century and then up to World War I. The society laid many of the foundations of the Labour Party in this time-period and is still in existence today. Similar societies exist in Australia (see Australian Fabian Society) and New Zealand.

History

The society was founded on January 4, 1884 in London, UK as an offshoot of a society founded in 1883 called The Fellowship of the New Life. Fellowship members included poets Edward Carpenter and John Davidson, sexologist Havelock Ellis and future Fabian secretary Edward R. Pease. They wanted to transform society by setting an example of clean simplified living for others to follow. But when some members also wanted to become politically involved to aid society's transformation, it was decided that a separate society, The Fabian Society, also be set up. All members were free to attend both societies. The Fellowship of the New Life disbanded sometime in the early 1890s but the Fabian Society grew to become the pre-eminent intellectual society in the United Kingdom in the Edwardian Era.

Related Topics:
January 4 - 1884 - London - UK - 1883 - The Fellowship of the New Life - Edward Carpenter - John Davidson - Sexologist - Havelock Ellis - Edward R. Pease - 1890s - Edwardian Era

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Immediately upon its inception it began attracting many intellectuals drawn to its socialist cause, including George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Annie Besant, Graham Wallas, Hubert Bland, Edith Nesbit, Sydney Olivier and Emmeline Pankhurst. Even Bertrand Russell later became a member.

Related Topics:
George Bernard Shaw - H. G. Wells - Sidney - Beatrice Webb - Annie Besant - Graham Wallas - Hubert Bland - Edith Nesbit - Sydney Olivier - Emmeline Pankhurst - Bertrand Russell

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The group, which favoured gradual rather than revolutionary change, was named - at the suggestion of Frank Podmore - in honour of the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator (nicknamed "the Delayer"), who advocated tactics involving harassment and attrition rather than head-on battles against the Carthaginian army under the renowned general Hannibal Barca.

Related Topics:
Revolution - Frank Podmore - Roman - Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator - Attrition - Carthaginian - Hannibal Barca

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Many Fabians participated in the formation of the Labour Party in 1900 and the group's constitution, written by Shaw, borrowed heavily from the founding documents of the Labour Party. At the Labour Party Foundation Conference in 1900, the Fabian Society claimed 861 members and sent one delegate.

Related Topics:
1900 - Constitution - Labour Party Foundation Conference

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In the period between the two World Wars, the "Second Generation" Fabians—including the great writers R. H. Tawney, G. D. H. Cole and Harold Laski—continued to be a major influence on social-democratic thought.

Related Topics:
R. H. Tawney - G. D. H. Cole - Harold Laski - Social-democratic

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It was at this time that many of the future leaders of the Third World were exposed to Fabian thought; most notably, India's Jawaharlal Nehru, who subsequently framed economic policy for one-fifth of humanity on Fabian social-democratic lines.

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