Page - 251 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

state, democracy, socialism 251 of the relationbetweenpolitics and theeconomy in thisway isnowcustom- ary, yet itwasnovel inMarxist thinkingat the time.However,Bauer’s ideaof a far-reachingautonomyofpolitics ledhimtooverestimate the roleof super- structuralpoliticalformsattheexpenseofeconomicrelations.9Consequently, hisoverallassessmentofthepeople’s republicwasmisguided. Bauer’sreferencesabouttheemergenceoftheFirstRepublicimplythatdur- ingtherevolutionaryperiod, itwasaclass-neutralstate.Thetwomostimport- antsocialclassesallegedlypossessedsimilarstrengthinthepowerstruggle.Itis difficult toseetheveracityof this.Afterall, the ‘balanceofclasses’ in theFirst Republicwasbasedoncapitalist property relations.Maintaining theseprop- erty relationswas synonymouswith preserving the rule of the economically dominant classes, even if their political strengthwas temporarilyweakened. Theparticipationofdelegatesoftheworkers’party ingovernmentdidnotvis- iblychange thesocio-economicstructure.Withoutwanting todepreciate the meritofBauer’sanalyses,nonethelesswhatheglorifiedasapeople’s republic wasinactualityaclassstateof thebourgeoisie.Forall its rationalandpositive assets,workers’participationinproductionandsuperstructural institutionsin thisstatewaslimited. Similarly, another idea inBauer’s analysis also falls short.Namely, his ana- logybetweenthepoliticalemancipationof thebourgeoisie inthe feudal state and the political emancipation of the proletariat in the people’s republic. AccordingtoBauer,aprovisionalbalancebetweentheclassoffeudallandown- ersandthebourgeoisiegraduallyallowedthelattertoconquerthestateappar- atus.Moreover,Bauer sawananalogybetweenthemechanismsbywhichthe bourgeoisie tookpowerandthepositionof theworkingclass inthebourgeois state.Thatistosay,itwouldgraduallyamasscontroloverallinstitutionsuntilit ruledonitsown.Legallyguaranteedformsofco-operationbetweenthebour- geoisie andproletariatwould secure the full emancipationof theproletariat. Formany,themechanicalanalogybetweenthebourgeoisrisetopowerandthe working-classstruggle forthesameendswasunfoundedthen,andremainsso today. In feudal society, the bourgeoisie first solidified its economicposition and thenused it togradually ascend topower.Acomparablepath isunavail- able for theworkingclass incapitalist states. Social reforms, tradeunions, co- operatives and industrial councils achievedmeaningful social change in the politicalandeconomiccapitalistorder,yettheyhavestillnotshakenthefound- ationsofcapitalist relationsofproductiontoanydegree. 9 KelsenvoicedthesameobjectiontoBauer’s theory.SeeKelsen1965,p.273.Furthercriticism ofBauer’s theorycanbefoundinKelsen1924,pp.50–6.