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Fabian Society

Fabian Society, British socialist society. An outgrowth of the Fellowship of the New Life (founded 1883 under the influence of Thomas Davidson), the society was developed the following year by Frank Podmore and Edward Pease. George Bernard Shaw and Sidney Webb joined soon after this and became its outstanding exponents. The group achieved recognition with the publication of Fabian Essays (1889), with contributions by Shaw, Webb, Annie Besant, and Graham Wallas. The Fabians were opposed to the revolutionary theory of Marxism, holding that social reforms and socialistic "permeation" of existing political institutions would bring about the natural development of socialism. Repudiating the necessity of violent class struggle, they took little notice of trade unionism and other labor movements until Beatrice Potter (who later married Sidney Webb) joined the group. They subsequently helped create (1900) the unified Labour Representation Committee, which evolved into the Labour party. The Labour party adopted their main tenets, and the Fabian Society remains as an affiliated research and publicity agency.

See studies by A. Fremantle (1960), P. Pugh (1984), and F. Lee (1988).

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Fabian Society

Socialist society founded in 1883–84 in London, to establish a democratic socialist state in Britain. The name derived from Fabius Maximus Cunctator, whose elusive tactics in avoiding pitched battles led to victory over stronger forces. Fabians believed in evolutionary socialism rather than revolution, and used public meetings and lectures, research, and publishing to educate the public. Important early members included George Bernard Shaw and Sidney and Beatrice Webb. They helped organize a separate party that became the Labour Party in 1906, and many Labour members of Parliament have been Fabians.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Australian Fabian Society

The Australian Fabian Society was established in 1947. Inspired by the Fabian Society in the United Kingdom, it is dedicated to Fabianism, the focus on the advancement of socialist ideas through gradual influence and patiently promoting socialist ideals to intellectual circles and groups with power.

The Australian Fabian Society has had close historical ties with the Australian Labor Party, also known as the ALP. This is evident in the number of past Australian Labor Party Prime Ministers, Federal Ministers and State Premiers who were, and are, active members of the Australian Fabian Society. The current President of the Australian Fabian Society is former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam

The Australian Fabian Society has had a significant influence on public policy development in Australia since the Second World War, with many of its members having held the highest levels of political power and influence in the land.

Political Platform

The Australian Fabian Society cites their 'Four General Aims' on their organisation's website as being:

1. To contribute to a renaissance of left of centre and progressive thought, by generating and disseminating ideas that are original, meet the challenge of the times, and are of high intellectual quality.