Page - 189 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

the ‘thirdway’ to socialism 189 Neustadt and the industrial andmining areas of Upper Styria to the south; GrazandLinzwere industrial areas in thecountryside thatwere surrounded byagrarian areas.48As toAustria’s revolutionarypotential from 1918–20, it is evident that theworkingclasswastheonlyrevolutionary force,yet its revolu- tionary zealwasnot aspronouncedas toallow it to sacrifice the social gains of theprecedingperiod.49At the timeof struggle, themiddle classes formed aprogressivebloc, yetwhentheworkingclass consolidated itsposition, anti- proletariantendenciesincreasedamongstthepettybourgeois.SincetheSocial Democratsneglectedpoliticalworkinthecountryside,thepeasantrywassub- ject to the influence of clerical forces. It was not the Social Democrats, but theChristianSocialswhopavedtheway fornewlegislationandreformscon- cerning ruralproperty relations.50At thebeginningof theRepublic, apartof thepeasantry supported theworkers’ demonstrations because theyopposed thewar,bureaucracy,andeconomicausterity–yettheirattitudetorevolution changed radically as theworkers’ councils enforced food supply contingents. The fear that thepeasantswouldnot support the councils proved fully justi- fied.What ismore, theaimsofthepeasantrywereincompatiblewithsocialist revolution – theywere landowners, and a triumphant revolution could not increasethesizeoftheirestates,aslargeestatesinAustriaprimarilycomprised grasslandsandwoods.Aworkers’ governmentwouldnothave the supportof the agrarian provinces. Bauer’s conclusion that the Social Democrats had to conductcoalitionpoliticswiththeChristianSocialswasindeedjustified.51 Thisdoesnotchangethe fact thata tendencytoavoidconflictprevailed in thesdap,while theparty simultaneously strove tocultivateboth the trustof theworking class and its status as the only significantworkers’ party. Bauer andhispartycomrades’attitudetowardthecouncilsconfirmsthis. It isworth notingthattheclassicMarxist textsdidnotusethetermworkers’councils, i.e. therewasno talkof thecouncil systemasanorganisational formofworkers’ ruleduring theperiodofproletariandictatorship.Marxonlyoncementioned thecommuneasapoliticalmodel thatservedeconomicemancipation inThe 48 AccordingtoVolpi, theemploymentrate intheagrarianprovinceswashigher inagricul- turethanintheindustries. Itwas53percent inUpperAustria,56percent inTirol,and57 percentinStyria.Botzinterpretsthisstructureascontaininglowpotentialforrevolution- arymobilisationdespitespontaneousmassmovements.SeeBotz1987,p.50. 49 TálosconfirmsthisassessmentinTálos1981,p. 147. 50 Bauerhimselfadmittedthis inBauer1976g,pp. 15–23and1925b,pp. 146–63. 51 Leser also attempts to justify the sdap’s coalition work and renunciation of struggle by citing the existing isolation of the working class and impossibility of winning the peasantryasrevolutionaryallies.SeeLeser1968,p.311.