By Harold Pease Ph. D. Sept. 16, 2026
As we have previously established collectivist and atheistic philosophies circulated in Europe and America throughout the 1800s becoming the foundation of what is now known as socialism, most predating Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto. With the publication of this book socialism splintered into two forms Marx’s, called communism, eventually took power in Russia in 1917 and Fabian Socialism gradually came to controll Great Britain. Only these two variants of socialism were strong enough to capture a nation. (“Socialism as Defined by Socialists : Forced to Live Usefully,” By Harold Pease Ph. D., LibertyUnderFire.org, Sept. 9, 2026).
Fabian Socialism, the other late 19th and 20th Century variant of socialism, and the most powerful and influential today (although the word Fabian is no longer used), is content to work in the shadows, thus not alerting its potential victims, as it works first for national, then world, conquest. That it is not recognized as a threat, as is communism, is evidence of its vast success worldwide. Today most countries are dominated by its philosophy. This was its design. Its four founders Edward R. Pease, Sydney and Beatrice Webb, and George Bernard Shaw are each philosophers, with Shaw the most prolific and famous writer of the group.
With respect to strategy of conquest the basic difference between the two schools of socialist thought is that Marx viewed the proletariate or working class as the essential revolutionary force while the Fabians insisted that the upper class was the more important revolutionary element. Shaw, insisting that the Fabians were the real revolutionaries, explained it this way: “Marx’s Das Kapital is not a treatise on Socialism: it is a jeremiad against the bourgeoisie…. It was supposed to be written for the working classes; but the working man respects the bourgeoisie and wants to be bourgeois; Marx never got hold of him for a moment. It was the revolting sons of the bourgeoisie itself … like myself… that painted the flag red…. The middle and upper classes are the revolutionary element in society….” (Archibald Henderson, George Bernard Shaw: Man of the Century, Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., New York, 1956, p. 219). Turns out he was right.
Armed with this insight Fabians worked primarily with potential intellectual revolutionaries who would eventually gain positions of influence, quietly guiding the nation into socialism. As they planned it they “would never present to the people the whole package of socialism for a vote, —but let them vote for socialism one piece at a time (Two Worlds, The Story of Man and the Major Influences on His Life, A Flick-Reedy Education Enterprises Book, Bensenville, Illinois, 1966, p. 158). This process of revolution-making is often referred to as the doctrine of the inevitability of gradualness or as Shaw called it, the strategy of permeation, or the art of inculcating socialist principles into the body politic."
Sidney Webb, another founder, wrote of this strategy: “We spared no pains in these propagandist efforts, not among political liberal or radicals only, but also among political conservatives; not only among trade unionists and co-operators, but also among employers and financiers.” Reflecting upon the success of this strategy years later he declared, “I do not suppose that, nowadays, anyone would question that this was a powerful and successful propaganda….”(“Fabianism,” reprinted from the History of Socialism by Harry W. Laidler, Freemen Digest, July 1, 1979, p. 46). And indeed it was. They knew it was propaganda--even lies.
The deceit was complete. Shaw boasted the Fabian Society “presented socialism in the form of a series of parliamentary measures, thus making it possible for an ordinary respectable religious citizen to profess socialism and belong to a Socialist Society without any suspicion of lawlessness, exactly as he might profess himself a Conservative and belong to an ordinary Constitutional club,” (George Bernard Shaw, Intelligent Women’s Guide to Socialism and Capitalism, Brentanos, New York, 1928, p. 220). But among themselves they “talked revolution, anarchism… fully anticipating our bringing about a tremendous smash-up of existing society, to be succeeded by complete Socialism” (Shaw, The Fabian Society: Its Early History, pp. 3--5).
The Fabian motto unmistakably following this strategy reads, “For the right moment you must wait, as Fabius did most patiently when warring against Hannibal, though many censored his delays; but when the time comes you must strike hard, as Fabius did, or your waiting will be in vain and fruitless.” The organization has two logos depicting this strategy: the most common being an angry tortoise which has appeared on “millions of Fabian tracts and pamphlets distributed throughout the English speaking world.” The tortoise as an emblem represents a “persistence, longevity, slow and guarded progress toward a [revolutionary] goal.” This emblem was discontinued in the mid 1960’s. The other logo, equally appropriate, is of a wolf wearing sheep’s clothing holding the Fabian Society banner (Two Worlds, p 158. See also Freeman Digest, Vol. 1, No. 7, November 30, 1972, pp. 1, 5).
We do know, however, that Fabian’s Sydney Webb and Edward Pease were in the United States for three months during the autumn of 1888 promoting Fabian Socialism and made appearances at the American Economic Association (AEA) to that end and that the AEA frequently published articles by Sidney Webb (Edward R. Pease, The History of the Fabian Society, London, A. C. Fifield, 1916, pp. 75-76). The Webbs, Sydney and Beatrice revisited the United States in April 1898 where they "lectured only to small groups of serious thinkers or handpicked audiences on university campuses, and mingled with leading elites of the American Economic Association….” The favorite spot for the Webbs in Chicago was the Hull House. It became a sanctuary for “reformers” and political radicals. It was here that the social Democratic Party led by Eugene V. Debs was formed in 1898 (Rose L. Martin, Fabian Freeway: High Road to Socialism in the U.S.A., 1884–1966, Heritage Foundation, Chicago, Illinois, 1966, pp. 140-141).
Fabian Socialism invaded America over a century ago. It dropped the name Fabian. It infiltrated every university to some degree. It had 128 years to grow from then and did.
Dr. Harold Pease is a syndicated columnist and an expert on the United States Constitution. He has dedicated his career to studying the writings of the Founding Fathers and applying that knowledge to current events. He taught history and political science from this perspective for over 30 years at Taft College. Newspapers have permission to publish this column. Read his weekly columns at www.LibertyUnderFire.org. Column #890.
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