Page - 284 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

284 chapter 7 Tsarism,thisdemandexistedinahistoricalvacuum.Bauerdidnotindicatethe ways inwhich it couldbeput intopractice, and in 1912 theWesterncountries werefar fromdeclaringwarontheTsaristEmpire. When contemplatingmeasures suitable for the working class and Social Democracyduringwartime,Bauer,whoauthoredDerSozialismusundderKrieg (Socialism andWar), warned of placing false hope in the effectiveness of a general strike, claiming that ‘…underpresent circumstances, stopping awar throughgeneral strike isautopia’.20According toZimmermann,Bauer’sposi- tiononwarwasambiguous.On theonehand,hewasconvincedof the inev- itability ofwar under capitalismand the pointlessness of Social-Democratic anti-war propaganda. On the other, he attempted to prove that the work- ing class would transcend national interests, support international anti-war policies,andcommenceastruggleagainst imperialism.21Theweaponshesug- gested for this struggle–anti-warpropaganda, speeches inparliament, street demonstrations – were hardly effectivemeasures to protect the proletariat fromtheimperialistgovernmentsandtheirpolicies. Indeed,Bauerhimselfdid notbelievethat theanti-warsentimentsof thepartyandworkingclasswould amounttomuch. Bauer’s position on the breakout of WorldWar i and its potential con- sequenceswas farmore realistic than that ofRenner and thepartymajority. Thisledtothecoolingoftherelationshipbetweenthetwopoliticians,andcon- demnedBauertopolitical isolationwithintheparty.Rennernotonly justified thegovernment’s acts ofwar; heevenestablishedaconnectionbetweenwar and economic progress. For him, it contained the possibility to create great economic territories and thus preserve themultinationalHabsburg state. In contrast, Bauer realised that thewarwould stimulate thepolitical activity of the various nations of the Empire. Consequently, hewarned of themiscon- ceptions escalated by Renner – he expected that the independencemove- ments in theSlaviccountrieswouldreceiveaboost leading to thebreakupof the empire. From 1914–16, this possibilitywas hardly ever considered in the party. Rather, there prevailed a belief that the pre-war political linemust be maintained, i.e.agitatingforpolitical reformsanddefendingallnationsof the Austro-HungarianEmpirefromTsarism.AveilofsilencewascastovertheAus- trianimperialistwaraimsthatthesepoliciesservedtofurther.22Duringthewar 20 ‘… unter den heute gegebenenUmständen die Verhinderung eines Krieges durch den GeneralstreikeineUtopie ist’ –Bauer 1980e,p. 743.According toSteiner, themajorityof SocialDemocratssharedBauer’sposition–seeSteiner1967,p.5. 21 CompareZimmermann1976,p.448. 22 ThisdoesnotatallmeanthattheleadersofAustrianSocialDemocracymisapprehended