Fabian Society

Fabian Society, British socialist educational organization that advocates social change through democratic reform. 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 national resources. Believers in peaceful and gradual change, they named their group after the ancient Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator, who wore down a powerful enemy by means of delaying tactics and avoiding decisive battles. In time, local Fabian societies affiliated with the parent body were founded all over 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.