Page - 59 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

thematerialist view of history 59 as a pure doctrine, devoid of any basic assumptions, had far-reaching con- sequences.Thatistosay,itledhimsofarastodisregardtheinternalconnection betweenMarx’s philosophicalmaterialism andhis theory of social develop- ment. Inthiscontext,Bauer’saversiontoKautsky’s interpretationofMarx’s social theorybecomesunderstandable, given thatKautsky’s reading gaveemphasis to itsorigins inhistoricalmaterialism.ToBauer,materialismentailedthepos- itivist directiveofbasing the researchof social phenomenaandprocesseson empirical foundations.HisdefenceofMarxismagainstthepitfallsofmaterial- ismwasanalogoustothatofotherAustromarxists,whoequallyreducedmater- ialism to its natural-scientific dimensionanddenied it a right to exist philo- sophically.30 According to Pfabigan, their positionwas inspired by the neo- KantianFriedrichAlbert Lange. Lange’sworkHistoryofMaterialismandCri- tiqueof itsPresentImportance (1866),whichwaspopular inSocial-Democratic circles, reducedmaterialismtonatural sciencesandrejected itsmetaphysical content.31 Let us briefly recap. Bauer’s notion of the interrelationship between sci- enceandphilosophywas rooted in the scientistic postulateof anopposition between science and ideology (Weltanschauung). According to this view, it was unacceptable to deduce one’s conception of the world from science – consequently, therewas no relationship between scientific practice and the ideological implicationsof science. It is thereforeunderstandablewhyBauer negatedtheideologicalnatureofsocialism:heconsideredthechoiceofWeltan- schauung to be aprivatematter. Bauer thought that everyparticipant in the workers’ movement accomplished their own interpretation of ideology; accordingtohim,thefoundationforanykindofdemocraticsocialismwas‘the freeself-determinationoftheworkingclassinchoosinganintellectualcurrent fromamong those competing for its verdict’ (our translation).32 It shouldbe notedhere that the claimaboutMarxism’s ideological neutralitywas apillar ofAustrianSocialDemocracy,servingitspoliticalaimtowinpeopleofvarious views andbeliefs to the idea of socialism. That theparty agreed to integrate trends intoMarxismthat representeddivergent theoreticalandphilosophical 30 ForFriedrichAdler, theconceptofmaterialismwassynonymouswith theexperienceof modernnatural science–seeF.Adler 1918,p. 137.ForMaxAdler, itconstitutedarealistic positivism, i.e. a restrictionof science to thecausal examinationof reality. SeeM.Adler 1964,p.83. 31 SeePfabigan1977,pp.42–3. 32 ‘Die freie Selbstbestimmung der Arbeiterklasse in der freienWahl der um ihr Urteil ringendenGeistesströmungen’–Bauer1980q,p. 199.