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Fabianism

Fabianism

9.9
Belief that socialism should come slowly through legal reforms rather than by revolution
  • noun
  • /ˈfeɪbiənˌɪzəm/
translation icon : fabianismo
  • Many political theorists discuss Fabianism as a strategy for implementing social reforms within a democratic framework.

The first one was Fabianism, which was the British, particularly English.

Examples

  • The political virtue of Fabianism is that since "socialism" is always around the corner and has never been fully implemented, it can never be held to blame for the failings of the statist policies that have already been enacted.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Fabianism advocates for gradual reforms to achieve socialism rather than seeking abrupt revolutionary changes.

  • The first one was Fabianism, which was the British, particularly English.

  • Fabianism.

  • The flaw of Fabianism, and the reason it never became a mass movement on the Left, is that the revolutionary appetite will never be sated by its incrementalist approach.

    Academic text (2010)
  • The essence of Fabianism lies in its approach to reforming society slowly and legally instead of relying on radical transformations.

Synonyms

revisionism
vsFabianism
  • Specialized
2 9.1

A political idea that supports changing socialist ideas to accept gradual reforms instead of revolution

keeps core socialist aims and pursues change within legal bounds
reformism
vsFabianism
1 7.8

Belief in making slow changes to laws and society rather than sudden change

aims specifically to bring about socialism through lawful measures

Antonyms

143 4.9

Involving or supporting political change that removes a government

Surface Forms

Fabianism singular
Fabianisms plural

Morphology

Fabianism = Fabian (semi-transparent) = Fabian + ism

The formation is the regular suffixation of '-ism' to the proper-name-derived adjective 'Fabian', but understanding requires knowledge of the Fabian Society and its political meaning.

Etymology

The word Fabianism comes from the British Fabian Society, which took its name from the Roman general Fabius, who was known as 'the delayer', a reminder of the English word 'delay' because he avoided big battles and used slow, careful attacks. So Fabianism means trying to change society slowly through reform and the law, rather than by quick revolution.