Page - 45 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

© ewa czerwińska-schupp, 2017 | doi: 10.1163/9789004325838_003 This isanopenaccessarticledistributedunderthetermsofthecc-by-ncLicense. chapter 2 TheMaterialistViewofHistory 1 ScientisticMarxism LeszekKołakowski rightly referred to theperiodof the Second International (1899–1914) as the ‘golden age’ ofMarxism.1 During this period, the doctrine wasreceivedinaspontaneousfashion.Itwasreferencedandfiercelydiscussed bymanybranches of the social sciences, and, ultimately,wasnot spared cri- ticism. Itwas also during this time that two contradictory interpretations of MarxandEngels’s thoughttookshape, leavingasidecertainsub-varieties.This resulted fromdivergentways – controversial to this day – inwhich determ- inist andactivist elements, i.e. the two spheresof phenomenaandprocesses (theobjectiveandsubjectivespheres),werelinkedtogether.2So-calledobject- ivist interpretationsofMarxism,whichdevelopedmainlyundertheinfluence ofnaturalism,scientismandpositivism,werebasedonthepremisethatsocial realitiesaresubjecttotheirownautonomous, inevitablelawsofdevelopment. These lawswere treatedas extensionsof the lawsofnature. The significance ofconsciousandpurposefulhumanactionwasminimisedoreliminatedfrom the historical process. Instead, an emphasis was placed onmaterial factors, especiallyeconomicaspects.Thiswasreflectedinhowmodesofconsciousness wereviewedasexternal tobeing, andtherelationshipbetweenobjectiveand subjectiveconditionswasconceivedofmechanically, asmoving inonedirec- tiononly.Theopponentsof the ‘naturalists’–not just revisionists,butequally 1 Kołakowski 1978,p.355. 2 NumerousMarxists fromtheperiodof theSecond Internationalnoticed the inherent con- tradiction between the determinist and activist elements inMarx’s thought. The determ- inist aspect concernsMarx’s economicprognosis that capitalismwould inevitablydevelop towards communismandhis visionof capitalism’s decline,whichwas linked tohis theory oncrisesofoverproduction.Theactivistaspectconcerns theconsciousparticipationof the oppressedclasses inthedestructionofcapitalism.TheattemptsoftheseMarxiststolinkthe twoelementstogetherweremotivatedbytheiraspirationtodefendtheeconomicinterpret- ation of theorywithout denying the driving force of collective action. Resulting from this, Marxist theoristswere caught up in contradictions and inconsistencies.However,manyof themfavouredoneofthetwoaspects.Thisspawnedtwodistinct interpretationsofMarxian theory:anobjectivistandanactivistinterpretation.Pleasenotethatthisoutlineisaconscious simplificationoftheproblem.