The Fabian Society is a British organisation that was founded in 1884.
It aimed – and still aims – to promote socialist ideas and policies through a very slow and reformist approach. The society’s members include intellectuals, politicians (such as Tony Blair) and activists who advocate for social justice, equality and other neo-Marxist nonsense.
In spite of very few people knowing much about the Fabian Society, it has played a significant role in shaping British political thought and influencing policymaking, including the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS) and the welfare state.
In the mid-20th century, the society supported the decriminalisation of homosexuality. The society’s member, Sir John Wolfenden, chaired a committee that produced the Wolfenden Report in 1957, recommending the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the United Kingdom.
The original founders of the Fabian Society included intellectuals, academics, and social reformers such as Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb, George Bernard Shaw, and Graham Wallas.
The society published a series of pamphlets called the Fabian Essays in Socialism in 1889. It included contributions from the founding members and other prominent socialists of the time, presenting their vision of democratic socialism.
It was named after the Roman general Fabius Maximus, who was known for his strategy of gradual and patient tactics during the Second Punic War.
Rob Duigan chatted to me about all of the above. The irony is that, while the Fabian Society is not a secret society (unlike the Bilderberg Group), it has existed for well over a century under the radar of most.
