Page - 98 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

98 chapter 3 endorsed.34 Theprojectwas basedon the changing role and functionof the state in the era of imperialism. Itwas essentially an economic argument for establishing a union ofMiddle European states (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey), whichwas a political project directed against British, French andRussian capitalism.35 Bauer objected to theMitteleuropaproject for national reasons. He feared that the course of development implied in thenamewould leadto theestablishmentofa trustwhichwoulddestroy the domesticeconomicsector.36 Forthesamereason,heviewedtheeffectsofcolonialismupontheeconomy ofAustria-Hungarynegatively. That is to say, hebelieved that colonial policy wasanobstaclefordomesticeconomicdevelopment:increasedarmamentand navyspendingwasnotconducive to thedevelopmentof thedomestic labour market.Thelatterwasadditionallyjeopardisedbycheaperlabourinthecolon- ies. According to Bauer, the import of cheap products, which increased the wageearner’spurchasingpower,was theonly formofcolonisationbeneficial for theworking class of the aggressor country. Convinced that colonisation policieswerenotanecessarycondition for thedevelopmentofcapitalistpro- duction, Bauer formulatedhis credo as follows: ‘Even if imperialism is not a means to facilitate accumulation in the first place, it nonetheless serves as a means to furtherexpand its limits andmake it easier toovercomecrises that areperiodicallycausedbyoveraccumulation’ (our translation).37 Incidentally, Bauer’s standpointhadnopractical influenceupon thepolicies of the sdap. 34 FriedrichNaumann(1860–1919)–aGerman liberal, publicist andpolitician. Founderof theperiodicalDieHilfe. 35 It concerned thenecessityof creatingvast economic territorieswhichwouldguarantee thecapitalistsystemunlimitedproduction. 36 HilferdingandKautskyadvocatedasimilarpositiononthisquestion.SeeHilferding1915. CompareKautsky1916,p. 11. 37 ‘IstalsoderImperialismusnichteinMittel,dieAkkumulationüberhauptzuermöglichen, so ist er doch einMittel, ihre Grenzen weiter zu spannen und die Überwindung der Krisen,dieperiodischausderÜberakkumulationentstehen,zuerleichtern’–Bauer1979g, p. 1039. Bauer’s critiquewas part of awider discussion conducted in the international labourmovementat theAmsterdam(1904)andStuttgart (1907)congresses.Theattitude of theSocial-Democraticparties towardthecolonialpoliciesof the imperialistcountries was the topic of debate.While the Social Democrats conceded that any ambitions to conquer hitherto independent states ought to be abandoned, theywere unsure about maintainingalreadyexistingcolonies.Theywondered, for instance,whether itmightbe necessary topreserve thecolonies for thecontinued functioningof theworldeconomy. If economicallybackwardcountriesweregranteda freeand independentdevelopment, wouldthatconstituteathreattocapitalism?