Page - 271 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

state, democracy, socialism 271 TheonlymeanstoachievethisistheunificationoftheSocial-Democratic and Communist parties. However, the coalition stands in the way of unification. Ipreferacoalitionevenwith theworst, dirtiestCommunist toacoalitionwiththeChristianSocialsandGreaterGermans.40 ourtranslation Amajority of theworking class endorsed thedemand towithdraw from the coalition,which the left at the party congress of 1920 repeated. Theworkers urgedtheleadership–Bauer inparticular–totakeafirmstand. In 1918,Bauerdidnotparticularlydesireacoalitionwithbourgeoisparties and had reservations about its stability.41 In spite of this, neither he nor his closest associatesmanaged to present a clear position on co-operationwith otherpoliticalgroupsduring theentireperiodof theFirstRepublic. It isdiffi- cult toblamethem.Theirperspectivesevolvedonthebalanceofclass forces, and the arguments theyoffered theworking class intended to validateparty policies. Bauer’s stance at the 1920 sdap congress illustrates this. He admit- ted thatpermanentco-operationwithbourgeoisparties inevitably involveda change of the party line. As an aside, therewas a farmore significant prob- lembehindhis statement,which, even if the socialists didnot fully realise it at the time, becameparamount afterWorldWar ii. The 1920discussionwas not somuch about revising the current party line as it was about changing theverycharacterof theparty.As itwere, thequestionwaswhether thesdap shouldremainaclassparty,orwhethertheexperienceofcoalitionworkmilit- ated for it tobecomeapartyof theentirepopulace. Incidentally, thepostwar socialdemocratsofWesternEuropeunequivocally solvedthisquestionwhen renouncing themyth of the class character of their parties,which they con- sideredoflittleusegiventhechangedsocialandpoliticalcircumstances.Bauer protested that the partymustwithdraw from the coalition at the 1920 party congress.Torationalisethis,hedrewontheMarxistnotionthatclasscontradic- tionsincapitalistsocietywouldsteadilyincrease.Hearguedthat‘thegoverning of thebourgeoisstate, foras longas it remainsabourgeoisstatenaturally falls tothebourgeoisclass.Thestanceoftheproletariattowardsthebourgeoisstate eveninitsrepublicanformisoneofopposition’.42Inreality,Bauerrealisedthat 40 ‘Das einzigeMittel hierzu ist die Vereinigung der Sozialdemokratischen Parteimit der Kommunistischen.DasHindernisdieserEinigungistaberdieKoalition.MiristdieKoali- tionmitdemletzten,dreckigstenKommunistenlieberalsmitdenChristlichsozialenund Deutschnationalen’–quotedinRaming1979,p. 16. 41 SeeBauer1979i,p.20. 42 Seesdap1921, inDocuments,Programmes,Protocols.