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The British [[Fabian Society]] included proponents of state socialism, such as [[Sidney Webb]]. [[George Bernard Shaw]] referred to Fabians as "all Social Democrats, with a common confiction {{sic}} of the necessity of vesting the organization of industry and the material of production in a State identified with the whole people by complete Democracy".<ref>Britain, Ian (2005) [1982]. ''Fabianism and Culture: A Study in British Socialism and the Arts, c. 1884–1918''. Cambridge University Press. p. 14. {{ISBN|9780521021296}}.</ref> Nonetheless, Shaw also published the ''Report on Fabian Policy'' (1896), declaring: "The Fabian Society does not suggest that the State should monopolize industry as against private enterprise or individual initiative".<ref>Blaazer, David (2002) [1992]. ''The Popular Front and the Progressive Tradition: Socialists, Liberals, and the Quest for Unity, 1884–1939''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 59–60. {{ISBN|9780521413831}}.</ref> [[Robert Blatchford]], a member of the Fabian Society and the [[Independent Labour Party]], wrote the work ''[[Merrie England (Blatchford book)|Merrie England]]'' (1894) that endorsed [[municipal socialism]].<ref>McBriar, A. M. (1962). ''Fabian Socialism and English Politics: 1884–1918''. Cambridge University Press. p. 296.</ref> In ''Merrie England'', Blatchford distinguished two types of socialism, namely ideal socialism and practical socialism. Blatchford's practical socialism was a state socialism that identified existing state enterprises such as the Post Office run by the municipalities as a demonstration of practical socialism in action while claiming that practical socialism should involve the extension of [[state enterprise]] to the [[means of production]] as the common property of the people. Although endorsing state socialism, Blatchford's ''Merrie England'' and his other writings were nonetheless influenced by [[anarcho-communist]] [[William Morris]]—as Blatchford himself attested to—and Morris' anarcho-communist themes are present in ''Merrie England''.<ref>Thompson, Noel (2006). ''Political Economy and the Labour Party: The Economics of Democratic Socialism, 1884–2005'' (2nd ed.). Abingdon, England: Routledge. p. 21. {{ISBN|9780415328807}}.</ref>
[[Democratic socialists]] argue for a gradual, peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism. They wish to neutralize or abolish capitalism through political reform rather than [[revolution]]. This method of gradualism implies the utilization of the existing state apparatus and machinery of government to move society toward socialism. Other socialists sometimes deride it as a form of [[socialism from above]] or political elitism for relying on electoral means to achieve socialism.<ref>Draper, Hal (1963). [http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/contemp/pamsetc/twosouls/twosouls.htm "The Two Souls of Socialism"]. "Ferdinand Lassalle is the prototype of the state-socialist -- which means, one who aims to get socialism handed down by the existing state".</ref> In contrast, [[Marxism]] and [[revolutionary socialism]] holds that a [[proletarian revolution]] is the only practical way to implement fundamental changes in the structure of society. Socialists who advocate [[representative democracy]] believe that after a certain period under socialism, the state will "[[Withering away of the state|wither away]]" because class distinctions cease to exist.
In 1888, the [[individualist anarchist]] [[Benjamin Tucker]], who proclaimed himself to be an [[anarchistic socialist]] in opposition to state socialism, included the full text of a "Socialistic Letter" by [[Ernest Lesigne]] in his essay "State Socialism and Anarchism".<ref>Tucker, Benjamin (1911) [1888]. ''State Socialism and Anarchism: How Far They Agree and Wherein They Differ''. Fifield.</ref> According to Lesigne, there are two socialisms: "One is dictatorial, the other libertarian".<ref>Lesigne (1887). [http://fair-use.org/liberty/1887/12/17/socialistic-letters "Socialistic Letters"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807090418/http://fair-use.org/liberty/1887/12/17/socialistic-letters |date=2020-08-07 }}. ''Le Radical''. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref> Tucker's two socialisms were
=== In socialist states ===
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