Page - 318 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

318 chapter 8 inhis appraisal of fascismandwasweigheddownbycontradictions.His art- icle, ‘UmdieDemokratie’ (‘ForDemocracy’), was an example of this: on the onehand,headmittedthatthecrisishadpushedthewearyworkingclassonto the defensive andhad incapacitated it fromdefending democracy.45On the other,heexpectedtheproletariat towinover thepettybourgeoisieandpeas- antry,whoweredividedbetweenthedemocraticandconservativewingsofthe ChristianSocialParty,tothedefenceofthedemocraticstateorder.46Moreover, thearticletestifiedtohiserroneousdiagnosisofthepoliticalsituation, includ- inghismisjudgementof the two fascistmovements.47 There is nootherway toexplainwhyhefearedthat thetwocurrentsmightmerge.Similarly,Bauer’s support forDollfuss’semergencyregulationsagainst theNaziswasnotpartic- ularlywell thought out. Given that the government’s plans in 1933were not exactlya secret, itwouldhavebeeneasy topredict that the same lawswould soonalsobeusedagainstMarxists.Weshall refrain fromfocusingonBauer’s publications from 1933–4 in detail, as they are rather unfruitful for our pur- poses.Tosummarise,BauerdidnotbelievethatAustrofascismcouldwin,right upuntilthedefeatoftheFebruaryuprising.48Withoutwishingtoprovideajus- tification forhisneglect, it is certainly thecase that the fascistphenomenon, whichwasnotoneofBauer’smainareasof studyat the time, caughthimby surprise. From 1934–8, after thedemise of democracy, Bauer attempted ananalysis ofAustrofascism that contained theoretical elements. It is therefore justified to call it a theory ofAustrofascism.Aheadof our appraisal, let us recall that Bauerconsistentlyviewed fascismasanationalphenomenon,and that there weretwomainreasons forhishostility towardsAustrofascism: first,Dollfuss’s insistence onAustrian independence,whichwas irreconcilablewithBauer’s 45 SeeBauer1980u,p.304. 46 Commentingonthisproposal,Hanischwrites: ‘Whathe[Bauer]overlooked,however, is howdeeplyimbuedtheaversionagainstparties,parliament,andthereforeagainstdemo- cracy had already become in thementality and collective feelings of the population’ – Hanisch2011,p.293. 47 The Heimwehr aspired to gain a political position in the state. Themain goal of the NationalSocialists,ontheotherhand,wastheannexationofAustriatotheGermanReich. KöstenpointedoutthenaivetyofBauer’sapproachatthetimeinKösten1984,p.203. 48 Heputhispositionveryclearly: ‘Inthelongterm,thesituationoftheAustrofascistdictat- orshipisthereforeforlorn.Itwilleitherdismantleitself,seektocometoanunderstanding withtheworkingclass,capitulatebeforetheworkingclass,ortheworkingclasswillover- throwit.Theobjectiveconditionsofitsoverthrowwillbecreatedbythemechanismofits development’ (ourtranslation)–Bauer1980y,p.418.