The Fabian and the African

Almost everyone knows that Sidney Webb’s Fabianism was, if nothing else, practical, constructive, and hardheaded, unlike the revolutionary extremists he held in sovereign contempt. Now there is no better opportunity to be practical, constructive, and hardheaded than as a cabinet minister. In fact, one of the main aims of the Fabian Society was to ensure that socialists would know exactly what to do when they took over the government.

In 1929 the Labor party did take over the gove...