The Fellowship of the New Life

The Fellowship of the New Life was an organization in the 19th century, most famous for a splinter group, the Fabian Society.

It was founded in 1883, by the Scottish intellectual Thomas Davidson (philosopher) ["The Development of Thomas Davidson's Religious & Social Thought by James A. Good". [http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/TD.html] ] . Fellowship members included poets Edward Carpenter and John Davidson, sexologist Havelock Ellis, and future Fabian secretary Edward R. Pease.Future UK Prime Minster Ramsey MacDonaldwas briefly a member.According to MacDonald, the Fellowship's maininfluences were Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson [MacDonaldquoted on pg. XV of Henry S. Salt's "Life of Thoreau", University of Illinois Press, 2000.] .

Its objective was "The cultivation of a perfect character in each and all." They wanted to transform society by setting an example of clean simplified living for others to follow. But when some members also wanted to become politically involved to aid society's transformation, it was decided that a separate society, the Fabian Society, would also be set up. All members were free to attend both societies. The Fellowship of the New Life disbanded sometime in the early 1890s.

Although not a member, Patrick Geddes was influenced by some of the organisation'sideas [Elisee Reclus and Patrick Geddes: Geographies of the Mind [http://patrickgeddes.co.uk/summer_feature_reclus.html] ] .

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