Page - 228 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

228 chapter 5 general political linewere critical of them.137However, his positionwas not consistent – it evolvedwith the trajectory ofCommunism inRussia and the ussr. It ispossibleto loosely identifythreestages: 1. From1917–21,whenBauerrecognisedthehistoricalnecessityoftheOctober Revolution,predicted itsdefeat, andat thesametimeendorseddespotism asaninstrumentofhistoricalprogress; 2. From 1921–9, when he supported the introduction of the NewEconomic Policywhile criticising thedictatorship as an impediment toRussia’s eco- nomicdevelopment; 3. From1930–8,whenhewas fascinatedby theFiveYearPlan, andhoped for ademocratisationofpolitical lifeandconsideredStalinismanecessarystep inthisprocess.138 It is possible to visualise Bauer’s changing attitude toward Bolshevism as a curvethat firstgoesdown,only togoupagain.139 In itsascendancy, thiscurve was one of growing hope and illusion in the socialist character of Russia’s internaltransformations.Whatcharacterisedhisstandpointduringthisphase wasBauer’sattemptstojustifyBolshevikpracticebycitingeconomicandsocial factors,whichheproclaimedtobecrucialintheprocessofdemocraticchange. Thistypeofrationale, rootedinMarxistorthodoxy,washardtoreconcilewith actualBolshevikpractice,wherepoliticalgoalsandthewillof theCommunist leadersdeterminedtheboundariesofeconomicandsocial change, aswell as definedthepoliticalorder. 4.1 TheDoctrinairePerspective:ChancesofSocialistRevolutionin Russia Bauerwas concernedwith this issue before theOctober Revolution andde- votedhimselftoitduringthefirstthreeyearsofBolshevikrule.Hisassessment, basedonananalysisof theeconomicstructuresandbalanceofclass forces in Russia,was contained in twoworks: a pamphlet publishedunder thepseud- 137 Kautsky,MensheviksDanandAbramovich,andalltheoristsofAustrianSocialDemocracy polemicisedagainstBauer’sposition. 138 Löwproposedthisperiodisation inLöw1981. Ibelieve it tobe themostaccurateoutline oftheevolutionofBauer’sviews. 139 From 1917–19, Bauer primarily depicted the economic and social differences between RussiaandtheWestEuropeancountries. Inthe laterperiods,he formulatedconclusions fromhisownassessmentofdevelopments inRussia.This ledhimtoerrorsof judgement andinaccurateprognoses lateron.