Page - 181 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

the ‘thirdway’ to socialism 181 the superiority of thedemocratic road to socialismover armeduprising and force directed against the economy. He regarded two consequences of this routeasparticularlyvaluable.Firstly, its fulfilmentwouldnotobstructexisting socio-economicconditions,butwouldinsteadbenefitthem.Secondly,theidea of a peaceful revolutionwould unite all potential supporters of theworking class initspowerstruggle forthesocialistprogramme. 1.2 PracticeintheServiceofTheory Thequestionofrevolutionwaspurelytheoreticalupuntil 1918,asstatedatthe beginningofthischapter. Itwasnotuntil thevictoryoftheRussianRevolution that it becamepractical. Bauer’s position found expression in thepolitics of Austrian Social Democracy during the revolutionary wave that gripped the country from 1918–20. Since I have already illustrated this period inmy text, Nurtmediacji (TheCurrentofMediation, 1991),24onlyeventsdirectly linkedto Bauer’s theoretical thoughtandpoliticalactivitywillbediscussedhere. TheOctoberRevolutioninRussiahadasignificant impactupontherevolu- tionaryandanti-wartemperamentamongtheAustrianworkingclass,particu- larly informationaboutgradualworkers’andsoldiers’autonomypassedonby deserters fromthe front.At first, Bauer and the sdap leadershiponlypassed cautious judgementovertheevents inRussiawhileremainingdistinctlyscep- tical.On9November1917, theArbeiter-Zeitung rananarticle tellinglyentitled ‘A revolution for peace’, whichpraised the struggle for freedomandbread.25 On 12November 1917, the sdap leadership sent a telegraph to theCongress ofSovietsofWorkers’ andSoldiers’Deputies laudingthedemandto laydown armsand takeuppeacenegotiations.26Nonetheless, in theirnumerouspub- licappearances,VictorAdler,Renner,Seitz,AdelheidPopp,andBauerwarned workersagainstadoptingthemethodsoftheRussianRevolution. ofworkingconditions),whichwoulddirectlyleadtosocialisttransformations.Inlinewith thesebeliefs,hemaintainedthattheworkingclasswouldassumeeconomicandpolitical powerinthestatebypeacefulmeans.ForBauer,peaceandtheunificationoftheEuropean labourmovementwere preconditions for successful socialist revolution. The only new element inBauer’s revolutionary theorywashis support for independence struggles in China,EgyptandIndia, includingafavourableviewoftheRussianRevolutionasafactor thatmightacceleratetheprocessofrevolutioninthecolonialcountries. 24 SeeCzerwińska1991,pp.87–111. 25 Theparty’s peaceefforts foundexpression in the86,000-strongpeacedemonstration in front of Vienna Concert Hall on 11 November 1917. However, neither Seitz nor Renner orAdler,who took to theplatform to speak,was able to pacify the protestingworkers. CompareKropfandHautmann1974,p.44. 26 SeeArbeiter-Zeitung, 13November1917,p.2.