Page - 157 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

the national question 157 thenations to survivewithout thenecessity for revolutionary transformation oftheexistingstate. ThequestionarisesastowhatBauermeantbynational-culturalautonomy. Much likeRenner,heconceivedof theautonomousassociationaspossessing its own state structures, i.e. a parliament, government, state budget, culture and education. The state authoritywould exercise self-administration. Each federal state would preserve national and administrative unity as part of a federationwithacommonfiscalsystem.Theirofficial languagewouldbeGer- man.Administrativetasks, thecentraleconomy,andthemilitarywouldbeleft to the individual federal states. The state ought to guarantee its citizens the freedevelopmentofnationalculture,education,institutionalforms,andsocial life.87Thisconceptofnational-culturalautonomy,however,excludedpolitical autonomy.Itwasassumedthatstateswouldnotstriveforindependentnational statehoodiftheyweregrantednationalgainswithinamultinationalstructure. AccordingtoBauerandRenner,national-culturalautonomywouldbebasedon theexterritorialityprinciple, i.e. individualdefinitionofnationality irrespect- iveofresidence.88 Bauer’ssuggestedconceptofnational-culturalautonomyaimedtopreserve themultinationalstate,transformthemonarchyintoademocraticstatewitha federalstructure,abolishspecialprivileges,andinthiswaysecuretheequality ofnations.Itwasbyfarthemostprogressivesuggestiontosolvethenationalit- iesquestioninAustriaatthetime,evenifitdidnotmeettheexpectationsofthe oppressedpeoplesthathadbeenfightingforindependenceforyears.Itsobject- ivewassimilartothatofRenner’smodel:reformratherthantransformationof theclassstructure inthebourgeoisstate.Accordingtothisplan, thepreserva- tionofthemultinationalstatewasapreconditionforwagingtheclassstruggle undertheleadershipoftheSocial-Democraticparty.AsMommsenpointsout, theproblemwiththeinternationalistideologythatAustrianSocialDemocracy, includingBauerandRenner,hadtowrestlewith‘lay,ofcourse,inthatitpresup- posesthatnationalinterestsareessentiallylimitedtotheculturalandlinguistic 87 AsHanischwrites: ‘Thismajor,long-termprojectdemandedradicalconstitutionalreform, a complete reconstitutionofAustria. The “centralist-atomic” regulation, asBauer called the December constitution of 1867, was to be replaced by an “organic regulation”’ – Hanisch2011,p. 101. 88 Bauer rejected the territorial principle on the grounds of migration movements, the division of economic territories, and the danger ofminorities being ‘swallowed up’. In 1908,he identified technical and legaldifficulties as standing in thewayof thepersonal principle. InDiesozialeGliederungderösterreichischenNationen (TheSocialStructureof theAustrianNations),hesupportedtheterritorialprinciple.