Chapter 9: The Fabian Society

On March 17, 1883, Karl Marx died in London, and only nine people attended his funeral.

Ten months later, his followers founded the Fabian Society in London, named after the ancient Roman general Quintus Fabius.

It was called Fabian because, in ancient Rome, Fabius defeated the powerful opponent Hannibal using guerrilla tactics; the Fabian Society likewise sought to slowly advance social change through gradual, moderate reformism.

Due to its moderate stance, the Fabian Society gained support from many intellectuals, including prominent figures like Shaw; at its peak in 1945, over two hundred members of the society sat in Parliament, which contemporary media dubbed “a giant Fabian school.”

As for why Lin Ran knew this, it was because while staying at Li Xiaoman’s home, he accidentally discovered a badge hidden in a crack in the study.

(The Fabian Society badge)

Li Xiaoman immediately hid the badge with a look of delight but refused to answer Lin Ran’s questions.

After searching online for a long time, Lin Ran learned the badge was the Fabian Society’s emblem—a wolf wearing a sheep’s skin—and thus came to understand this once-famous but rapidly declining organization.

Even so, more questions arose: how did a badge from an English society end up in the hands of a Chinese family, when Li Xiaoman’s ancestors for three generations were pure-blooded Han Chinese?

Much later, once they were close, Lin Ran seized the chance to ask.

Li Xiaoman replied with a look of melancholy:

“During the late Qing Dynasty, there were government-sponsored overseas students, right? The earliest ones mainly went to England and France, but after the Franco-Prussian War, students began to be sent to Germany.

My great-grandfather went to Germany to study during that period. Unlike most who attended the Berlin Military Academy, he went to the University of Frankfurt.

Like countless patriots, he hoped to find a path to save China; at the time, the Fabian Society’s influence had penetrated Germany, leading to the founding of the famous Frankfurt School. My great-grandfather’s revered professor joined the Frankfurt School, so he joined it too.”

Lin Ran was stunned upon hearing this—descendant of a distinguished family—“Was it hard for a Chinese person to join the Fabian Society back then?”

In that era, in that atmosphere, Lin Ran could barely imagine how difficult it must have been for a Chinese person to join a white intellectual society like the Fabian Society with its deep roots.

The obstacles must have been countless.

Li Xiaoman nodded: “Of course. But my great-grandfather’s revered professor was Max Horkheimer.

He was the founder of the Frankfurt School. With his strong recommendation, and because people felt there needed to be an Asian representative to convey the Frankfurt School’s ideas, my great-grandfather was finally accepted into the Frankfurt School.

My great-grandfather worked at the Social Research Center of the University of Frankfurt, which was Europe’s first institution dedicated to studying Karl Marx.

This is the badge he received for joining the Frankfurt School—it’s a testament to our family’s history. I thought I’d never find it again!”

“This badge differs from the ones worn by current Fabian Society members.”

Lin Ran thought: the difficulties hidden in those few sentences were unimaginable—how many hardships must his Chinese predecessors have overcome to earn such an opportunity?

He still remembered Li Xiaoman’s proud expression, so he followed her lead: “What’s different about it?”

Li Xiaoman pulled the badge from her box and showed him the back.

“Here.”

“A turtle?”

“Yes. This was the Fabian Society’s earliest emblem—a turtle—with the words beneath:

WhayIstrike，Istrikehard.”

“It means: when I bite, I bite hard!

It refers to the Fabian Society’s patience—we have all the time in the world to wait for the right moment, but when it comes, we will never miss it.”

Through this thread, Lin Ran came to understand the Fabian Society; the more he learned, the more he realized how extraordinary the organization was.

The Fabian Society alone had done much good: it first proposed establishing a national healthcare system in 1911, introduced a minimum wage in 1906, and abolished hereditary nobility in 1917.

The modern welfare state was entirely born from the Fabian Society.

The Frankfurt School, which originated from the Fabian Society, was different.

The Frankfurt School was most famous for critical theory.

The 1922 international conference in Moscow studied how to export culture to Europe.

The German delegate, Münzenberg, argued that Marxist intellectuals should be organized to systematically undermine capitalism; soon after, the Frankfurt School was born.

Max Horkheimer, mentioned by Li Xiaoman, was the second director of the Frankfurt School’s Social Research Center, and their main achievement was critical theory.

The core of critical theory: find fault with the world to destroy it. Social problems have nothing to do with individuals—they’re systemic. So smash the system.

The theoretical foundations of later movements like LGBT and Black Lives Matter originated here.

No matter how well it’s framed, the end goal is always to destroy all tradition and disrupt social order.

After Horkheimer fled to America, he met Columbia University president Butler in New York; Butler admired Horkheimer and invited him to relocate the Frankfurt School to Columbia, even giving him a building.

Through this opportunity, Frankfurt School researchers became Columbia professors. From there, they spread to Princeton, Brandeis, and other institutions across America.

Thanks to Columbia’s influence, the Frankfurt School could radiate its impact to England and America.

In short, in the 1960s, the Frankfurt School wielded immense influence in America, and the president then was Kennedy of the Democratic Party.

Lin Ran now possessed not only the original proof of the Frankfurt School’s founding—the Fabian Society badge—but also a sixty-year information advantage.

Combined, these allowed him to naturally gain the protection of the Frankfurt School; at least throughout the 1960s, he could walk freely across America without fear.

From 1961 to 1969, the Democratic Party firmly held the White House.

As for eight years later, by then Lin Ran would be established and famous, utterly immune to scrutiny over minor issues—he would have prepared perfectly.

The only difficulty in between was how to get Li Xiaoman to let him use the badge.

It was her ancestral heirloom.