In Pursuit of Utopia #10: “Fabian Socialism”

From https://schoolsucksproject.com/bonus-in-pursuit-of-utopia-10-fabian-socialism/:

“I don’t want to punish anybody, but there are an extraordinary number of  people who I want to kill. Not in any unkind or personal spirit. But it  must be evident to all of you, you must all know half a dozen people at  least, who are no use in this world; who are more trouble than they are  worth. And I think it would be a good thing to make everybody come  before a properly appointed board just as he might come before the  income tax commissioners and say every 5 years or every 7 years, just  put them there, and say, sir or madam, now will you be kind enough to  justify your existence?” – George Bernard Shaw,  playwright, polemicist, political activist, Fabian Socialist

So can we actually humanize the Fabians??

About This Series:
In the 21st century, we’re living in a mosaic of fractured and failed  Utopian visions from the past; socialism, social justice, liberation  movements, archaic revival, radical environmentalism, and even the  “information” revolution are a just a few notable examples. Whether we  trace the concept of utopia back to Thomas More 500 years ago or even  all the way back to Plato, the ideal world has been pursued from the top  down, frequently resulting in varying degrees of dystopia for  people…not at the top.

About Your Instructor:
Danny McCarthy is a SSP listener, blogger and researcher, and the author  of an upcoming book on the historical pursuit of utopia. His site is ageofutopia.info

We are joined again by historian Kevin Cole. His website is unityofthepolis.com

 Discussed: 

• Who are the Fabians?
  • British socialists interested in gradual implementation rather than revolution
  • Named for Fabius Cunctator “the Delayer,” a Roman general from the 3rd c. BC
    • Targeted supply-lines, avoided big battles, and used entropy against his enemy (Hannibal)
  • Fabian Society founded in 1884
  • Originally an off-shoot of the Fellowship of the New Life 
• Influences
  • Thoreau & Emerson
    • The ideal of simple, communal living
  • Bismarck
    • Welfare socialism (also influenced W. Wilson & Progressives)
  • Tolstoy
• Fabian Beliefs
  • They were “progressive,” i.e., they pushed what they considered progress at every turn — they dislike what was “outmoded” or “outdated” (such as classical liberalism, for example)
  • Advanced universal health care & minimum wage
  • Favored the abolition of nobility
  • Supported eugenics
  • Founded London School of Economics in 1895
  • Has seeped successfully into British establishment