Page - 72 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

72 chapter 2 century, thebourgeoisieagainst thearistocracy, thepettybourgeoisieagainst thebourgeoisieduring capitalism’s transition from its liberal to itsmonopol- istic phase, and theproletariat against thebourgeoisie during the early days of imperialism.His study led to the followingconclusions: thehistoryofclass struggledetermines thecourseofhistory ingeneral.Theclass struggleconsti- tutesthebasisforhistoricalprogress,aseveryclassstrugglingforitsemancipa- tionandagainsttheoutmoded,decrepitelementsoftheexistingsystemstrives toobtainahigherlevelofrationality,moralityandculture.Therefore,theclass strugglealwayshas the featuresofa struggle forvalues.True tohis scientistic perspective,Bauer, likeMaxAdler,assumedapositionofaxiologicaldetermin- ism,according towhich thedisseminationofvalues– rather thanconflicting material interests–was thesourceofprogress.TheauthorofTheStruggle for Power borrowed the idea that historical progress had a continuous anduni- directional character frompositivism. In its struggle against the bourgeoisie andforitsliberation,theproletariatwasthesuccessorofallprogressiveclasses inhistory.Bauerbelievedthatthestruggleoftheworkingclassrepresentedthe finalandhigheststageofclassstruggle.Theproletariatstoodforaclasslesssoci- etythatwouldreturnfreedomtotheindividual. Itwasthereforetheonlyclass whose sectional interestwas consistentwith thecommon interest. Socialism was,accordingtoBauer,notonlyanecessity,butalsoanethicalgoal towhich thelabourmovementoughttoaspire. Much likeMarx, Bauer never gaveup faith in the comingof a proletarian revolutionandthevictoryof socialism.Heemphasised itshistoricalnecessity ateveryopportunity,not least forpropagandisticvalue.DrawingonMarx,he pointedtothreetendenciesthatindicatedthatsocialismwascoming:thecon- centrationof capital; the increasingpowerof capital; and thenumerical rise of theproletariat.However, heviewed thevictoryof socialismasmuchmore thanjustaconsequenceofobjectivehistoricaltendencies–histheorymerged deterministic andvoluntaristic elements.Bauer stressed that socialwillmust bepresentasmuchasahistorically foundedtendency.Thewillwouldrelease mechanisms that constitutedaprecondition forhistorical change.According toBauer,thewilldidnotspontaneouslydevelopasacorrelationofaparticular socialposition.Rather, itwasbasedonrecognisingthatthegoalofthestruggle representedanobjectivelysignificantmoralvalue. If thesocialist ideawereto becomeamaterial force that captured themasses, ithad touniteahistorical andmoralorder in itself. This subjectbringsus toourdiscussiononthe rela- tionshipbetweenMarxismandethics.