Page - 323 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

the spectre of fascism 323 Let us conclude by citing Botz, who pointed out that Bauer’s definition of ‘Austrofascism’ had little to do with the definition the author proposed for fascism in abroader sense. Botz assumes that Bauer coined the term for the purpose of political struggle rather than political analysis.60 It is more likely that the opposite was the case. Bauer aimed to establish a scientific distinctionbetweenAustrianfascismandothervarieties.However,his lackof distancefromthepoliticaleventsoftheday,andthefactthatheonlyknewthe corporative state fromanemigrant’s perspective,made it impossible forhim toformulateanappropriate theoreticaldiagnosisof theDollfuss-Schuschnigg system. 2.3 TheTheoryofFascismasImperialism Shortly before his death, Bauer prepared the last, unfinished chapter ofThe IllegalParty forpublicationasaseparatebook.61 It containedhis third theory of fascism,whichlinkedthephenomenonwiththeeconomicdevelopmentof capitalismandthechangingroleof thecapitalist state inamorepronounced manner. Itwas similar toHilferding’spremiseof ‘organisedcapitalism’,which also attributed to the state a growing role in the economy and highlighted planningasacharacteristicelementofthecapitalisteconomy.Thetheorywas certainlynotnew.AlthoughBauerforegroundedtheeconomicfoundationsof fascism,hedenied this timearoundthat thebalanceof class forcesandclass apparatuswereapreconditionforthefascistmovementtoseizepower.Atthe same time, echoesof his first fascism theory still lingered: Bauer argued that underfascistrule,theexecutivepowerofthestatebecamegraduallyautonom- ous.Furthermore,heemphasisedtheinnercontradictionsofthefascistsystem, whichareexpressedintheconflictofinterestsbetweenthestateapparatusand therespectivesocialclassesandgroups. ThebasicpremiseofBauer’sthirdtheorywashisinsistencethatfascismwas a formof aggressive, bellicose, imperialist capitalism.On this, he concurred withgdhCole.62One of the typical characteristics of aggressive capitalism, according toBauer,was its tendency to increase theexploitationandoppres- sionoftheworkingclassdomesticallywhileatthesametimewagingastruggle formarketsabroad. It followsthatBauerconsideredcapitalism’sdevelopment towards imperialismtobeageneralandfundamentalconditionfortheriseof fascism.However, he realised that this general accountwas insufficient asan 60 SeeBotz1985,p. 177.Hanischsharesthisview–seeHanisch1984,p.53. 61 ItappearedafterBauer’sdeathas ‘DerFaschismus’ inDersozialistischeKampf. 62 SeeCole1953,p.60.