The H.G.Wells Resource Site: Fabians
The Fabian Society
A British socialist educational organization that advocates social change
through democratic reforms. It was founded in London in 1884 by a group
of middle-class intellectuals who rejected the Marxist theory of class
struggle but wished to promote equality for all through collective ownership
and democratic control of the nation's resources. Believers in peaceful
and gradual change, they named their group for the ancient Roman general
Quintus Fabius Maximus Cunctator, who wore down a powerful enemy by usi
ng delaying tactics and avoiding decisive battles. In time, local Fabian
societies affiliated with the parent body were founded all over Great Britain.
From the beginning, the society attracted a number of talented people who
helped ensure its success. Among these were the economist Sidney Webb and
his wife, sociologist Beatrice Webb; social reformer Annie Besant; dramatist
George Bernard Shaw; future prime minister James Ramsay MacDonald; and
novelist H. G. Wells. Shaw was a particularly effective promoter of Fabian
ideas. Fabian Essays (1889), which he edited, became a classic of British
socialist thought.
Devoted primarily to education and social research, the Fabians
never constituted themselves as a political party. However, they participated
in founding the Labour Representation Committee in 1900, which later became
the Labour party, and have maintained a close connection with the party.