Page - 107 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

a contribution to the theory of imperialism 107 the conquest of colonies. As far as Bauerwas concerned, Luxemburgmade a fundamental error. Shebelieved thatherpremiseof constant consumption on thepart of theworking class under conditionsof expanded reproduction was an indisputable axiom. This led her to the erroneous conclusion that capitalist markets in themselves could not realise surplus value.60What is more,ifoneacceptsherclaimthatcapitalaccumulationisimpossibleinclosed systems,thenonlyexportingcommoditiestonon-capitalistcountriescansave the capitalist economy. However, the capitalist economy does not exclude thepossibility of importing rawmaterials from these countries. Bauer based hismain proposition on one conclusion he had drawn fromhis critique of Luxemburg’s theory: the accumulation of capital is possible, evennecessary, in isolated capitalist countries.61 Attempting to identify the prerequisites of capitalaccumulationinaclosedsystem,hecitedtwoindispensable,mutually dependentconditions: 1. The necessity of a proportionate development of the twodepartments of production(iandii).Whenmakingthisargument,hedrewonHilferding’s theoryof ‘organisedcapitalism’. 2. Thedemographic factor: growthanddrops inpopulationmustbepropor- tionaltothedevelopmentoftheproductiveforces,i.e.proportionalrelations betweentheproductiveforcesandtheconsumingpowerofsocietymustbe maintained.62 To substantiate his position, Bauer appealed toMarx’s schema of expanded reproduction. From this schema, it follows that crises are a consequence of imbalance between the production value of the first (i –means of produc- tion) and second (ii – articles of consumption) departments of production. Wheninvestigating thecausesof imbalance,however,Bauerdidnotconform totheanalysisprovidedbyMarx,whorejectedthe interpretationof thecycle asaphenomenonofthemoneysphere.LikeHilferding,heinsteadarguedthat the imbalanceofprices indifferentdepartmentsof productionwasdecisive, yet did not go into detail about the causes of this imbalance.63 In his study 60 BukharindrewattentiontothiserrorofLuxemburg’s inBukharin1972,pp. 166–7. 61 See Bauer 1986, p. 108. Note that Bauer stressed political and national factors when defending this: in the period leading up to the fall of themonarchy, itwas amatter of preserving itsnational sovereignty, and in theperiodof theFirstRepublic, aquestionof confirmingitsdevelopmentcapacities. 62 SeeBauer1980f,pp.887–8. 63 Hilferdingemphasisedtheinfluenceoftechnologicalprogressuponthedisproportional-