ABSTRACT

Fabianism,ofallsocialisms,ismostconsistentlypaintedgreyongrey. TheFabians,andespeciallytheWebbsplayeduptothis;theyseemed almosthappytoberidiculedastheywentabouttheirbusiness,doing committeework,scribblingendlessly,makingacquaintancesand influencingpeople.Ironicallyenough,thishashelpedtoproducethe situationwhereFabianismhasbeenincrediblyinfluential,andyetrarely takenseriously;whereFabianismhasbeenmocked,caricaturedtodeath, syncretisedandhomogenised,Fabiansturnedintotheboy-scoutsof Europeansocialism.AllFabiancatshavebecomeapparentlygrey;and BeatriceandSidneyWebb,ashasbeenremarked,havebecomeakindof compositepersonalityinthehistoryofBritishsocialism(Britain,1980). TheWebbscouldjustaswellbe'theWebb',forallthetendencyto identifytheirthought.Asissooftenthecaseintheanalysisofthehistory ofideas,however,theinterestliesindifferencesaswellasinsimilarities oridentities.TheWebbswereinsomewaysmorealikethanisoften thought,inotherwaysmoredifferent.Theircommonviewsrequire analysis,butsodotheirdifferences.Asimilarchallengeconfrontsusin locatingandcharacterisingtheargumentsofotherFabians;forjustas BeatricewasnotSidney,soarethererealandsubstantialdifferences betweenthemandtheirrebelliousnephewssuchasG.D.H.ColeandH.G. Wells,andavuncularFabianfigureslikeBernardShaw.Coleatdifferent timestookuptheradicallydemocraticpersonaofguildsocialist,andthen becamemoreorthodoxandparty-mindedwiththepassingoftheyears. Wells,forhispart,becamethemostexplicitlyutopianofFabians,whether rampagingovertheachievementsoftheeldersasapetulantyoungmanor writingthebafflingpanoplyofsocialsciencefictionthatwashisandhis alone.Andthen,finallyforourpurposes,therearethesimilarlyslippery andextraordinarilyinfluentialviewsofBernardShaw.