Page - 262 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

262 chapter 6 factoriestowardsanintegratedsystemwheregroupsofworkerswouldberep- resentedbyprofession. These formsof representationwould serve as organs of social control and organisation to protect workers’ interests. InWestern democraciesafterWorldWar ii, these suggestionswereessentially revivedas demandstocreatestrongunioncentresandestablishco-managementinwork- places. ItappearsfarmoredifficulttoassesswhatBauermeantby‘functionaldemo- cracy’.30Itiscomprisedoftwoaspects.Firstly, itrequireddemocracyonabasic level, i.e.asbroadaspossiblepopularparticipationinlocaladministrationand self-administration bodies to influence communal, environmental, cultural andeducationalpolicies. Secondly, theworkingclass and itspressuregroups as amasswould need to compel the government tomake decisions benefi- cial toall social layers. Inotherwords, theexecutivewouldbesubjectedtothe control of parliament and social organisations. If strong extra-parliamentary interest groups,mainlyworkers’ associations,wereestablished, then thegov- ernmentwouldnotonly require support inparliament for thedurationof its legislativeperiod,but additionally seek theapprovalof autonomouscitizens’ organisations to legitimise its actions. He did not go intomore detail about the principles and criteria for such citizens’ organisations. Their purposes, however,wereclear:decentralisestatepowerbyassigningpartofthelegislative andexecutiveresponsibilitiestopowerholdersatlocalandself-administration levels; increase social control; preserve the interests of the workingmasses andensurethattheirgoalsaremet.Bauerbelievedthat functionaldemocracy wouldallowcitizenstoinfluencegovernmentandadministrativedecisionsasa formofextra-parliamentaryauthority,aswellastransformbourgeoisruleinto working-classrulewithintheframeworkofparliamentarydemocracy.Mostof all, it would encourage citizens’ initiative, change their attitude towards the state,anddeveloptheirawarenessofsharedresponsibilityandsocialcommit- ment.CoreelementsofBauer’sconceptoffunctionaldemocracyhavebecome fundamentalcomponentsofcontemporarysocio-politicalpracticeintheWest. socialisation programme so rigorously. For him, industrial democracywas ameans to prepareworkers for theadministrationof thestateandproduction in the future, aswell as raise theirpolitical andclassconsciousness.With regard to thequestionof industrial democracy,Bauerwentso faras todenythenecessityofcarryingconsciousness intothe working class ‘fromoutside’. This canbe explainedbyhis belief that theworking class coulddeveloppolitical consciousnessof itsownaccord if itwere inpossessionofa tool suchas industrialdemocracy. 30 DrawingonBauer, Ernst Fraenkel introduced this category in thediscussion about the politicalorder intheWeimarRepublic.SeeButterwege1981.