Page - 151 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

the national question 151 struggles:whilethebourgeoisieresortstonationalvaluestopreservetheexist- ingsocialstructuresofcapitalism,heargued,theworkingclassturnstheminto aconstituentpartof its struggle foremancipation.73However, this aptobser- vation did not have the slightest influence uponBauer’s fundamental polit- icalpositiononthenationalitiesquestion.Aspreviouslyalludedto,Bauerdid notunambiguouslyadvocateutilisingthenationalitiesconflictsinthestruggle for socialism.Nor did he, upuntil 1918, explicitly cite the right of nations to self-determination.74Forhim, thepivotalgoalswere theabolitionofnational subjugation andalleviating thenationality conflicts that stood in thewayof conductingeffectiveSocial-Democraticreformpolicies. However, this didnotmean that Bauer blindly disregarded the ambitions of subordinatednations to rebuild their state structures. Indeed, he took the possibilityofanarmedPolishandUkrainianuprisingintoaccount.Morethan once,hewarnedGermansandHungariansthatnationalconsciousnessmight growamong so-called non-historical peoples.He frequently appealed to the Poles, Czechs, and South Slavs to give upnationality policies that aimed for a breakdownof themonarchy. Bauerwas convinced that preserving a huge national economicorganismwould serve the interests of theproletariat and allpeoplesofAustria-Hungary. Inhisview, itwas the foundation fora fruitful class struggle, and it servedas thebasis for thenationalitiespoliciesofSocial Democracy: ButthosewholongforadisintegrationofAustriaasthefulfilmentoftheir nationalhopesnowknowhowfragile thishopeis.Everyconsideredper- 73 Whenevaluatingtheroleofclassesascarriersofthenational idea,Bauerdidnotmanage to avoid premature judgements. In ‘Deutschtum und Sozialdemokratie’ (‘Germanness andSocialDemocracy’),hedemonstratedthatthebourgeoisiehadbetrayedthenational principle, and that theonly ‘truenationalpolitics’wasbeingconductedby theworking class. To prove this, Bauer invoked a rather facile argument: the workers’ struggle to improvetheirmaterialconditions leadsto increasedpopulationgrowthandthereforeto thegrowthof theGermannation.This thesisdrewonsociological theoriesofDarwinian originsthatwerepopularamongSocialDemocratsatthetimeandtendedtooverestimate the role of the demographic factor in the life of nations. Alongwith his belief that the greatnessofapeoplecouldbemeasuredbythegreatnessof itsculture, thisargumentof Bauer’sbetrayedhisGermanophileoutlook. 74 Saageargues: ‘Withhismajor studyonthenationalitiesquestion in theHabsburgmon- archy,[Bauer] laidthefoundationsfortherightofnationstoself-determination.Hethus established thepositionsofSocialDemocracyafterWorldWar iwith regard toboth the relationshipof themulti-ethnicstatetothenationsandthequestionofAnschluss tothe Germanempire’ (ourtranslation)–Saage2009,p.52. Inmyview,this isabitofastretch.