Page - XIX - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

introduction to the english edition xix ing thedemocratic systemdeserve tobe remembered.Likewise, thenegative experiences of thismovement, which resulted from internal contradictions andinconsistenciesinBauer’sthoughtandactionsthatoftenledtodangerous politicaloutcomes,mightserveasaneffectivewarningtoday. The subject of this book is a critical and analytical assessment of Bauer’s socio-political thought and thepolitics ofAustrian SocialDemocracy,which helped shape this thought andwhich, in turn, was shaped by it. The term ‘socio-political thought’ has a specificmeaning here. Its objective reference points are questions arising in the social andpolitical realms of philosophy. Leaving aside the essential characteristics of this subject area due to their richness anddiversity, let us just note that the social-philosophical realmon whichwearefocusingwillgiveustheopportunitytoassessBauer’sreflections upon society, the laws andmechanisms of its development, trends of social change, the driving forces behindhistorical and social processes, and so on, while the realm of political philosophywill provide uswith insights on his politicalviews. Onemaysumupthemainobjectivesof thisworkasfollows: – to define the cognitive and practical value of solutions for socio-political andeconomicproblemsofthedemocraticpoliticalorderproposedbyBauer andotherAustromarxists.Theoverarchingthemethatlinkstheseproposed solutions within the framework set by Austromarxism is the question of democracyandthevaluesassociatedwithit; – tohighlight thedifferencesbetweenthephilosophical, social, andpolitical conceptsdevelopedbyBauerandthoseproposedbytheclassicalMarxists, orthodoxMarxists, andparticularly Leninand thepracticalmanifestation ofhisconcepts,Bolshevism; – to determine the extent to which the defeat suffered by Austrian Social Democracy in 1934was due to erroneous political decisions, and towhat degree it resulted fromitsuncritical adaptationofMarxist theoretical and philosophicalpremisesthathistoryhadalreadyprovenwrong. I will furthermore reconstruct Otto Bauer’s theoretical, philosophical, eco- nomic, sociological, and socio-political concepts. Despite themulti-layered natureofhiswriting, theseareasofBauer’sworkhavearelativelyautonomous character anddonot formahomogeneous system. Particularly thepolitical, but also the economic ideas contained therein are rooted in the contempor- ary socio-historical situation. I therefore found it appropriate todepict them in light of thepolitical developments in the sdap, the internationalworkers’ movement, and the socio-historical processes in Austria and Europe at the