Page - 324 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

324 chapter 8 explanation inunderstanding the reasonsas towhy fascismhadprevailed in GermanyandItaly,whilefascistmovementsinothercountriesdidnotthreaten the bourgeois democratic state order at all ormerely resulted in the advent ofsemi-dictatorshipsorautocraticgovernments.Toexplainthisphenomenon, he pointed to additional historical and social conditions that hadpaved the way for bellicose imperialism, including different democratic traditions and theeffectsofWorldWari.63Hecitedasoneoftheeffectsofwartheweakening ofyoungdemocracies,whichhadoccurred inthecourseof revolutionaryand counter-revolutionaryprocessesafterthewarandtheinaugurationofthepar- liamentaryera in thevictoriouscountries. In thesecountries, thebourgeoisie wasbolsteredbyitssuccessandmaintaineditsposition.Anotherconsequence of thewar,decisive for thepoliticaldevelopment inEurope,wasthenewdivi- sionoftheworld,whichhadbornetwokindsof imperialism:ontheonehand, theconservativeandpeacefulimperialismofFranceandBritain,whichcontin- uedtoliveofftheircoloniesaswellasattheexpenseofdefeatedGermanyand Italy.Ontheother,anaggressive,pugnacious imperialismreignedsupremein GermanyandItaly,whichwereparticularlyaffectedbytheeconomiccrisisand hadambitions tooverrule it throughterritorialexpansion.64Fascismwas–so wentBauer’sconclusion–aweaponinthestruggletorevisethedivisionofthe world. When fascismsucceeded, it envisagedaneweconomicandpoliticalorder which reflected the changes towhich the structure ofmonopoly capitalism hadbeensubjected.Themostfundamentalofthesechangeswasatendencyto intensify thestatistorganisationof theeconomywhilekeepingproperty rela- tionsintact.ThistendencybecamestrongerinthewakeofWorldWariandthe 1929economiccrisis.According toBauer, it found its fullestexpression in the commandeconomyofthefasciststate,whichheregardedasitsessenceandits totalitariancharacter:thestateregulatedallareasoflifeandhadfullpowerover theeconomy.Bauer referred to the state control over theeconomyas ‘fascist etatism’(or,alternatively, ‘wareconomy’or ‘dirigisteconomy’)andregardedit asanewdevelopmentphaseofcapitalism,aqualitativelynewformofimperial- 63 CompareBotz1985,p. 180. 64 Bauerwrote: ‘Sincethen,BritishandFrenchimperialismhavebeendefendingthedomin- antpositiontheywonintheworldwar.Britain’sandFrance’s imperialismistheimperial- ismof thesatisfied,a full stomachimperialism. It is thereforeconservativeandpeaceful’ (our translation) – Bauer 1980ff, p. 874. Note that unlike in his earlier writings, Bauer refrainedfromcriticisingtheexpansionistandmilitaristaimsofFrenchandBritishcolo- nialisminthistext.HeprobablydidsoinordertohighlightGermanyandItaly’saggressive wardrive,andtostressthemorethreateningcharacterof their imperialism.