ABOUT THE QUAKER SOCIALIST SOCIETY. The Quaker Socialist Society provides a forum for those people, not just Quakers who stand for ethical socialism, social justice and a fair, safe and peaceful world. It aims to bring socialist ideas to Quakers and Quaker ideas to socialists. Ever since 1652, when the Quaker movement was founded, Quakers have opposed formal religion and church hierarchy, and promoted social equality. The followers of George Fox refused to pay tithes, take off their hats to their social ‘superiors’, or use any social distinctions such as titles. This egalitarianism arose naturally from the Quaker belief that there is ‘something of God in everyone’, regardless of social status. The famous Quaker commitment to peace flowed naturally from this, since Quakers believed inequality to be the root cause of war, as well as the root cause of social injustice.
From the Quaker viewpoint, they can learn from Socialists truths about society, economics and world history which are not available simply by consulting reason and conscience in the depths of the inner self. In the same way Socialists can learn from Quakers about the value of stillness and silence before taking action, and the value of treating everyone at all times with humanity and respect.
Quaker Socialists have been an organised group within Quakers since 1898, when the Socialist Quaker Society (SQS) was founded by Mary O’Brien, a school-teacher on the Executive Committee of the Fabian Society. The SQS was disbanded in 1924 because of internal divisions and because by then socialist ideas were making progress in the mainstream Quaker bodies. Some Quaker Socialists, for example, took up work on the Industrial Social Order Committee while one Quaker Socialist, Hubert Peet, became editor of the Friend, the weekly periodical of British Quakers.
The present Quaker Socialist Society (QSS) was founded in 1975 by Ben Vincent. It arose from the feeling that during the Cold War Quakers had lost much of their social commitment. The dramatic events of 1968-1974 had left Quakers as mere spectators of social change. The QSS wanted Quakers to return to their radical, egalitarian and pacifist roots.
The QSS is best known for its annual lectures, which have always taken place at the same time as Quaker Yearly Meeting. This tradition was started by Mary O’Brien as long ago as 1899, with the set intention of bringing Socialist ideas to Quaker members. Since 1996 this lecture at YM has been called the Salter Lecture, in honour of Ada and Alfred Salter. The lectures are by well-known academics or politicians (often but not always Quakers), and usually attract an audience of 300-400 people. You can read the texts, or watch the videos, of many Salter Lectures, on this site by going to the heading, ‘Salter Lectures’.
Quaker Socialist Society 