Page - 16 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

16 chapter 1 1911–34,hewasalsoeditor-in-chiefforasocialistdailypaper,thealreadyestab- lishedArbeiter-Zeitung, initiallyjustofthetradeunionsectionbutlateralsothe politicspages.40Hiscolleaguesfondlyrememberedtheatmosphereofintegrity and responsibility that Bauer created. Hewaswont to appear at the editor- ialofficeaftermidnight todiscuss thecontentsof theupcomingeditionwith FriedrichAusterlitz.His friendlinesstowardsallcolleaguesandtirelessenthu- siasmearnedhimrespect.Uponleavingtheeditorialoffice,henormallywrote anarticle for thenexteditionathomebeforegoing tobed.41Eachofhis texts was a spirited reaction to thematters of theworkers’movement or the situ- ation at home and abroad. Bauer commented on the aspirations, tasks, and tacticsoftheparty,socialandpoliticalevents, theeconomicsituationandfor- eignpolicy; he polemicised against the opponents of SocialDemocracy. The Arbeiter-Zeitung exerted tremendous influencewhen it came to formingand raisingAustrianworking-classconsciousness. In the period leading up the outbreak ofWorldWar i, tense relations be- tweenAustriaandSerbia,aswellasthethreatposedbyTsaristRussia,became increasinglyfrequenttopicsofdiscussionatleadershipconventions.Themain questionswere: howshould theworkers’ party respond if tensions escalated, andwould it be possible to exploit the war situation to commence revolu- tionaryaction?VictorAdler,whohadalwaysbeennegatively inclinedtowards strikes and revolutionary insurrection, admitted that the party had not dis- cernedanyprogrammeofwarpreventionandfeltentirelyat themercyof the politicalgoalsofworldimperialism.Thequestionofarmedproletarianstruggle toachieve socialismwas, as itwere, amarginalone.Despite its revolutionary rhetoric, theparty leadership felt thatAustria-Hungarycouldbe transformed intoabourgeois-democratic,multinationalstate,anditshouldnotexceedthis expectation. Using the nationalmovements to stage an insurrection against the ruling classes was therefore out of the question. The Social Democrats, includingBauer, supportedtheAustrian-Germanalliancebecausetheyfeared anexpansionof imperialRussia.Theydidnot foresee the fatal consequences itwouldhave forAustria-Hungary: thepowerof thestatewas reinforced,and theGermansinsistedoninterveningintheBalkansconflictbymilitarymeans. In contrast to the German Social Democrats, the dissolution of parliament prevented theAustrianSocialDemocrats fromdeclaringa firmpositionwith respect to the international conflict.However, newsarticles fromthis period 40 SeeSinger1979,p. 113. 41 Duringthisperiod,Bauerwasadditionallyburdenedfor familyreasons.Hismotherdied in1913,andthehealthconditionofhis father,whohewaslookingafter,worsened.