Page - 103 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

a contribution to the theory of imperialism 103 Behind these doubtswas, in fact, amuchmore fundamental issue: in the background, the dilemma of revisionismwas looming, albeit in amodified form.Ifthedevelopmentofcapitalismhadtakenadifferentdirectionfromthat envisionedbyMarx, and if capitalismhad created self-defencemechanisms, couldone thencontinue touphold the theoryof itsdestructionbyasocialist revolution, or should revolution be abandoned for good? If the theorywere to be abandoned, then it could only be replacedwith a concept thatmight reassurethemassesthattheworkers’partyhadnotbrokenwithMarx. Attheoutsetoffurtherdiscussion, letusnotethatBauerviewedcrisesasan inevitablephenomenonofcapitalisteconomy.50Concurrently,heclaimedthat capitalismacquiredpowersofregeneratingitselfandwouldnotfallbeforethe world revolution.Hedisagreedwith the revisionist idea that crises progress- ivelydecreaseinfrequency,scopeandduration.51Furthermore,hequestioned whether crises have a tendency to transform into a great global crisis, as the revisionists claimed.Bauerbelieved that two typesof crisesoccurduring the contemporarydevelopmentphaseof imperialism: conjunctural crises,which periodically result fromtheglobalcrisis, andstructuralcrises,whichare local androotedintheconditionsoftherespectivecountries.52Heviewedeachtype ofcrisisfromadifferentperspective:forBauer,conjuncturalcriseswereatheor- eticalproblem,whichiswhyheaddressedtheminthedebateamongEuropean Social Democracy. In contrast, he analysed structural crises as a pragmatist lookingfortemporarysolutions inAustrianconditions. 3.1 ConjuncturalCrisisandtheTheoryofOvercomingCrises Bauerbasedhis theoryof thebusinesscycleonananalysisof theglobalcrisis from1929–31,evenif itcontainedelementsofhisearlierthoughtfrom1913.His ownassessmentof theAustrian structural crisis provided the foundations. It wasalso thesourceofnumerouserroneousassumptions, themostsignificant ofwhichwerehisoverestimationof the roleof (1)monopolies, (2) thedemo- graphicfactor,and(3) ‘slips’ intherationalisationprocess. LikeMarx, Bauer conceived of the crisis as a disturbance in the process of capital accumulation.53AsMarx further explained, this is causedby three 50 SeeBauer1979c,p.794.CompareBauer1976l,p.639. 51 Kautsky held similar views on this – see Kautsky 1902, p. 136. This led to the thesis of capitalismbeinginastateof ‘chronicdepression’ thatonlysocialismcouldcure. 52 SeeBauer1976l,p.639. 53 Many authors believe that the classics ofMarxismdid not produce a coherent or uni- fied theoryof crisis and thebusinesscycle. SeeSweezy 1964,pp. 207–8.CompareKluza- Wołosiewicz 1963 p. 172, andBarczyk andKowalczyk 1985, p. 106. Indeed,Marx named