Fabian Society | British Socialist Society

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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-06T00:00:00CST" >Nov 6, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fabian-Society/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Date: </dt> <dd>1884 - present</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Areas Of Involvement: </dt> <dd><a href="/money/socialism">socialism</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/George-Bernard-Shaw">George Bernard Shaw</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/H-G-Wells">H.G. Wells</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Clement-Attlee">Clement Attlee</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Lancelot-Thomas-Hogben">Lancelot Thomas Hogben</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Annie-Besant">Annie Besant</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Fabian-Society"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref112236"></span>Fabian Society</strong>, socialist society founded in 1884 in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/London" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">London</a>, having as its goal the establishment of a democratic socialist state in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Britain-island-Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Great Britain</a>. The Fabians put their faith in evolutionary <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/socialism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">socialism</a> rather than in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/revolution-politics" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">revolution</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/George-Bernard-Shaw-on-socialism-1985101" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">(Read George Bernard Shaw’s 1926 Britannica essay on socialism.)</a></em></p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The name of the society is derived from the Roman general <span id="ref112237"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Quintus-Fabius-Maximus-Verrucosus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Fabius Cunctator</a>, whose patient and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="elusive" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elusive" data-type="MW">elusive</a> tactics in avoiding pitched battles secured his ultimate victory over stronger forces. Its founding is attributed to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Davidson" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Thomas Davidson</a>, a Scottish philosopher, and its early members included <span id="ref112238"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Bernard-Shaw" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">George Bernard Shaw</a>, <span id="ref112239"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sidney-Webb" class="md-crosslink ">Sidney Webb</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Annie-Besant" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Annie Besant</a>, Edward Pease, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Graham-Wallas" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Graham Wallas</a>. Shaw and Webb, later joined by Webb’s wife, <span id="ref112240"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Beatrice-Webb" class="md-crosslink ">Beatrice</a>, were the outstanding leaders of the society for many years. In 1889 the society published its best-known tract, <em>Fabian Essays in Socialism,</em> edited by Shaw. It was followed in 1952 by <em>New Fabian Essays,</em> edited by Richard H.S. Crossman.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Fabians at first attempted to permeate the Liberal and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="Conservative" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Conservative" data-type="MW">Conservative</a> parties with socialist ideas, but later they helped to organize the separate Labour Representation Committee, which became the <span id="ref112241"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Labour-Party-political-party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Labour Party</a> in 1906. The Fabian Society has since been <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="affiliated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affiliated" data-type="MW">affiliated</a> with the Labour Party.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The national membership of the Fabian Society has never been very great (at its peak in 1946 it had only about 8,400 members), but the importance of the society has always been much greater than its size might suggest. Generally, a large number of Labour members of Parliament in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Commons-British-government" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">House of Commons</a>, as well as many of the party leaders, are Fabians, and, in addition to the national society, there are scores of local Fabian societies.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The principal activities of the society consist in the furtherance of its goal of socialism through the education of the public along socialist lines by means of meetings, lectures, discussion groups, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="conferences" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/conferences" data-type="EB">conferences</a>, and summer schools; carrying out research into political, economic, and social problems; and publishing books, pamphlets, and periodicals. In 1931 the New Fabian Research Bureau was established as an independent body. The bureau and the society amalgamated in 1938 to form a new and revitalized Fabian Society. In 1940 the Colonial Bureau of the Fabian Society was established, and it produced a continuous stream of discussion and writing on colonial questions. The Fabian International Bureau was started in 1941 to cater to the growing concern of Fabians with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/foreign-policy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">foreign policy</a> and the great issues of war and peace.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Amy-Tikkanen/6393">Amy Tikkanen</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":199691,"pageLength":399,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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