‘The Fabian Strategy’: A Determined And Patient Attack To Bring Socialism To The West
It would be safe to say that not many people would have heard of Consul Quintus Fabius Maximus. Yet, his military strategy has been essential to the progression of socialism throughout the Western world. Before we get to that, it is important to understand who this man was and why his strategy became so popular throughout warfare and social engineering alike.
Fabius (as he is more popularly known) was a Roman military commander and statesman during the third century BC. He earned the title “Cunctator,” which is Latin for “delayer”. At the onset of the Second Punic War, fought between 218 and 201 BC, Rome was attacked by the brilliant and feared Carthaginian general Hannibal and his contingent of war elephants. The initial stages of the war were marked by a series of catastrophic defeats for Rome at the hands of Hannibal. At the time, war was generally fought by brutal head-on assaults. However, instead of meeting the formidable forces of Hannibal head-on, Fabius opted for a strategy of delay (hence his title) and attrition.
Focusing on caution and patience, Fabius sought to wear down his enemy’s forces through a war of attrition, later becoming known as the “Fabian strategy”. Not everybody in Rome was a fan of the strategy. Some called it cowardly and un-Roman. However, the Romans ultimately triumphed over Hannibal through use of the strategy and the leadership of another Roman with a far more aggressive and ruthless military posture. Nevertheless, the Fabian strategy became etched in the history books as a legitimate fighting methodology, designed to wear down an enemy force by cutting off its supply chain. Many historians claim that it was this strategy, employed by George Washington, which turned the tide against the British.
To the modern day, I would like to introduce you to a group called The Fabian Society, so named because of the tactics of Fabius. So that there is no mistaking where they place themselves on the political spectrum, let me quote you the slogan from the website of the United Kingdom chapter: The Future of the Left Since 1884. According to that same website, the group’s first pamphlet contained this explanatory note: “For the right moment you must wait, as Fabius did most patiently when warring against Hannibal, though many censured his delays; but when the time comes you must strike hard, as Fabius did, or your waiting will be in vain, and fruitless.”
For Fabians, they advance their cunning and patient strategy in three phases: educate, agitate and organise. Their “education” strategy was not designed for the masses – they would seek to educate a chosen few with a view to implanting them in government to oversee reform through the use of agitation and organisation.
In the minds of the Fabian socialists of England, they believed that a handful of cultural elites could transform a country from a free society into a society where selected elites or “anointed” members of society engineer societal outcomes based on centrally planned schemes.
Its core goal was the introduction of socialism through gradual political and economic reform. No wonder Fabian Socialism has, in the past, been called “Communism’s helpmate”. Under the Fabian worldview, the common person’s views, personal plans and desires become subordinated to that of the elite ruling class who become the grand designers and engineers of that society. Amusingly, English historian A.J.P. Taylor termed the Fabian Society “socialism for snobs”.
One of the foundational beliefs of the Fabian version of social reform was the field of eugenics. Early Fabians such as Sidney and Beatrice Webb were especially influenced by the idea that the lowest echelons of society, sometimes termed the ‘‘residuum’’, had hereditary defects and would increasingly degenerate. In fact, Sidney Webb, in his book The Difficulties of Individualism (1896) would write about the “breeding of degenerate hordes of a demoralised ‘residuum’ unfit for social life’’. In short, Fabians believed it was necessary to encourage better citizenry to have more children while in turning discouraging inferior citizenry from procreating.
Fabians are patient with their goals, evidenced by their choice of mascot. In early publications, they used the picture of an angry tortoise with the motto, “When I strike, I strike hard.” The trouble is, because of this “make haste slowly” approach to the introduction of socialism, many people in Western nations have become completely oblivious to the fact that the strategy has made enormous inroads. After all, the Fabian strategy is founded upon the goal to bring about an unnoticeable transition to socialism within a democratic framework.
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