Page - 276 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

276 chapter 6 oeuvrewhen thebourgeoisiewasweakduring thepost-revolutionaryperiod. It also offered the class enemies of Social Democracy a legal framework for their rebirthandinstigationsofextra-parliamentarymeansofviolence.These groupsmanaged to eliminate the workers’ party from political prominence withoutgreatdifficulty. Inopposition, thepartywasunabletoresist theforces that annihilateddemocracy.Nor could it construct the tactical prerequisites for aneffective struggle to reclaim itsposition in the state.TheSocialDemo- crats’ strategic objective of defending bourgeois democracy remainedunful- filled,wishful thinking.