Nationality And Autonomy

Nation is one of the common and the most complex phenomena of our society, it formed and developed with the development of society. Especially with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe countries as well as the development of globalization, ethnic and national relations become the focus of worldwide problems, and the development of the nation and the reunification of the country have become the main problems all over the countries. Between the late of19th and the early20th century, the national contradiction was the main contradiction of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. In order to maintain unity of the old Empire and solve the ethnic problems, Otto Bauer proposed a theory of national cultural autonomy on Karl Renner’s nation theory.Due to the influence of Positivism, Neo-Kantianism, and Machism, Otto Bauer opposed the nationality theory of metaphysic, experience and psychology. He believed that the objective factors such as regional, language, descent are not the essential factors of the nation, but the culture forming the awareness and perceptions of people was the essence of nation. Nation was the personality community which formed in the history of the production and work; they were the common customs and habits, life style and values. The fate community was formed in the personality community and characterized by history and unity. Through the historical process of social structure and the development of relations of production, Otto Bauer thought the national history was divided into the original clan cultural community, the cultural community of the ruling class, the Knight cultural community in the medieval the feudal society, and the capitalist cultural community. Finally, it was the socialist cultural community of all the people.Otto Bauer thought that the reason for national question is the territorial principle, the national system of central-atomism as well as the nature of the capitalism. The territorial principle put the rule of objects to use human, resulting in the national oppression and exploitation. The adjustment of its major objects is the atomized individuals and the universal will of the State in the central-atomism of the liberal and democratic government by law, but the nationality which manifested the collective certainly had lost its authority and status. Thus it caused fighting for status and authority in state of various ethnic groups for the actual interests, so it would give rise to the national contradictions and struggles.Otto Bauer thought that the bourgeoisie had overthrown the ancient dynasty empire, and set up the nation-state based on the national principles. This system conformed to the bourgeoisie benefit requirement also to promote the capitalism development. This system met the interests of the bourgeoisie and promoted the development of capitalism. However, they began to open up the colony and commodity market through the world after the dominance of the bourgeois. So the bourgeois pursuit of national freedom became into the national oppression. Although the capitalist society had produced the modern nationality and the national cultural community including broad public participation, the capitalist nation cultural community did not include all the people due to the basis of private ownership of the means of production, so the national culture community including all the people can only realize in the socialist society. And moreover, because of the reducing rate of surplus value of capitalism and the improvement of organic composition, thus the bourgeoisie obtained more and more surplus value through the export of capital as well as to strengthen the exploitation of the proletariat, thus caused the conflicts between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the oppress and the oppressed classes. Otto Bauer believed that the essence of national questions was the social problems. Therefore, as the Austrian Marxist, Bauer persisted with the historical and critical theory of Marxism to some extent.National cultural autonomy is an important content in Bauer’s theory and it includes the personal principle of nation, the organic adjustment on relationships between nation, state, and the evolutional politics of working class. He advocated the distinction between nations in accordance with the non-territory principle, meanwhile implemented the national registration system nationality on the foundation of individual free declaration and established respective national committee which levied on its numbers. And he implemented the reasonable distinction between national culture and political affairs in state, that making nations develop freely on economic and culture. He thought that it would not only safeguard the unity of the country, but also promote the development of the nation. Bauer knew clearly that the essence of capitalism and the national question which it brought. It cannot be resolved in capitalist society fundamentally, but it only would be resolved in socialism based on public ownership. In Bauer’s view, the revolutionary struggle was the means to achieve this purpose on the basis of nation; this is what he had put forward the "national evolution politics of working class". He wanted to realize the liberation and the revolution through "national evolution politics of the working class". It distinguished from Lenin’s proletarian revolutionary politics and the national conservative politics of the bourgeois, but it situated between "revolutionary politics" and "conservative politics". So it became the pioneer of "the Third Way".Because of the reformism and the opportunistic nature of Bauer’s national theory and political program, he had been criticized severely by Lenin. Lenin believed it was the regression to the capitalism rather than advancement to the socialism for Bauer to look for the democracy and rights, leading the socialism submit to the nationalism of capitalism. It abandoned the proletarian revolutionary struggle essentially. Lenin criticized the theory of "national cultural autonomy "as the nature of the bourgeoisie on the proletarian standpoint, and he proposed the "national self-determination". It promoted the independence and liberation of the oppressed nations all over the world in the era of proletarian revolution.It is the era of globalization today and it has been changed from the colonial era to the "post-colonial" era characterized by science, technology, economic, and cultural development. But national freedom and unity of the country, the issue of culture as well as the minority still becomes a prominent issue in development of the world. The theory of the "national culture autonomy" has been paid attention generally again, for it insists on the unification of country and focuses on the equality and development of minorities. Otto Bauer is called the pioneer of the "Multiculturalism" and it reflects problems in our times. We are facing the most important issue of the unity of state and the equality of nations, so it is inevitable for us to research the meaning of Bauer’s theory and to improve the system of regional national autonomy of our country.