Fabianism is a British socialist movement that favors gradual political and economic change. Formed in London in 1884, the object of the Fabian Society was “reconstructing society in accordance with the highest moral precepts [rules].” The society was named after the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus, whose nickname was Cunctator (Delayer). The Fabians modeled their tactics on Fabius’s battle strategy of wearing down his enemy but avoiding direct conflict. The Fabians believed in socialism through evolution and not by revolution.
Early Fabians included the Irish-born playwright George Bernard Shaw and the British social reformer Sidney Webb. Later British members included the reformer Beatrice Webb, the author H. G. Wells, the author and economist G. D. H. Cole, and the economist J. A. Hobson. The Fabians argued for a centralized socialist state—that is, one under the control of a single authority— in contrast to the decentralized socialism of the German social reformer Karl Marx.
The Fabians helped lay the foundations for the formation of the British Labour Party in the early 1900’s. In 1912, Beatrice and Sidney Webb founded the Fabian Research Department, which conducted inquiries into social, trade union, and cooperative questions. In 1915, this body became the Labour Party Research Department, and the Fabians, as such, ceased to function.
Labour leaders founded the Fabian Research Bureau in the early 1930’s. The bureau published literature on social and political matters. A new Fabian Society, formed in 1938, grew rapidly in the United Kingdom and other members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Many trade (labor) union leaders, trade unionists (union members), and Labour members of Parliament joined the society. The Fabian Society continues to exert influence among Labour Party members in the United Kingdom.
