Page - 177 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

the ‘thirdway’ to socialism 177 socio-economicandculturaldimensionsofsocialistrevolutionwasduetoAus- tromarxism’s immanentbelief in the immaturityof theworkingclass, aswell asacriticalassessmentoftheOctoberRevolutioninRussia. Theconceptofsocialisationwillbeassessedelsewhere,sinceitwasofgreat importance for the process of democratisation of economic and public life, just as it was for transforming themiddle classes into advocates of socialist revolution.It isnecessarytofocusontheconceptof ‘educationtowardssocial- ism’,acrucialelementofAustromarxistrevolutionarytheory,includingBauer’s contributiontoit.WhileChapter2.1containedanobjectivecritiqueofthisthe- ory, its objectives and functions in the revolutionary processwill be further examinedhere. Bauer’s hypothesis of a ‘revolution under themajesty of law’marked the beginning of a perspective oriented towards the legal struggle for a parlia- mentarymajority. Thecultural andethical hegemonyof theworking class in societywas to constitute its foundation,with socialist education servingas a means to this end.This ideawasdeeply rooted inGermanphilosophy. Itwas reminiscent of Kant and Schiller’s glorification of self-improvement through individualpoliticaleducationasapreconditionforthepoliticalemancipation ofthenation.Italsohadroots inHegel’s interpretationofhistory,accordingto whichprogresswenthand inhandwithan increase in freedomanddevelop- ments in scienceandculture.18 Thesemotives entered theGermanandAus- trian labourmovements via Ferdinand Lassalle, whowas one of the first to identify theworker’smovementasaculturalmovement.19AfterLassalle,Karl Liebknecht andMaxAdler, Engelbert Pernerstorfer andOttoBauer popular- isedthisconcept inGermanandAustrianSocialDemocracyrespectively.The Austrian socialists placedparticular importanceoneducational activities, as they assumed the implementation of socialismwould be built on the intel- lectualandmoralmaturityof theproletariat.Theripeningof socio-economic relations, incontrast,wasa secondary factor.MaxAdlerwas themainadvoc- ateof ‘education towards socialism’; theSocialDemocrats regardedhiswork, NeueMenschen (NewMen, 1924),asaguideforeducationaldevelopment.The programme for a ‘reformof consciousness’ as outlined in the textwasbased onthepremisethatclassesfightingforsocio-economicliberationdriveethical progress inhumanhistory. whoaccusedMarx’s theoryof automatismand fatalism in its conceptionof the lawsof history. 18 AlsocompareSeidl 1989,p.29. 19 Ibid.