Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Naofumi" data-source="post: 47504" data-attributes="member: 39">3.20 THE CAUSES OF SCHONERER&#039;S FAILUREIn my opinion, the collapse of the pan-German movement in Austriamust be attributed to three causes.First, the leaders didn&#039;t have a clear concept of the importance of thesocial problem, particularly for a new and revolutionary party.SchOnerer and his followers directed their attention primarily to thebourgeoisie. For that reason, the party was bound to turn out mediocre andtame.The German bourgeoisie, especially in its upper circles, is pacifist evento the point of complete self-abnegation-though some may not be awareof this-wherever the internal affairs of the nation or state are concerned.In good times, which in this case means times of good government, such apsychological attitude makes this class extraordinarily valuable to the state.But when there is bad government, such a quality has a destructive effect.In order to assure the possibility of carrying through a really seriousstruggle, the pan-German movement should have devoted its efforts towinning over the masses. The failure to do this left the movement, fromthe very beginning, without the elemental impulse that such a wave needsif it&#039;s not to shortly ebb away.In failing to see the truth of this principle clearly at the very outset ofthe movement, and in neglecting to put it into practice, the new party madean initial mistake from which it couldn&#039;t recover. The numerous moderatebourgeois elements admitted into the movement increasingly determinedits internal orientation. This preempted all further prospects of gaining anyappreciable support among the masses. Under such conditions, themovement couldn&#039;t get beyond mere discussion and criticism. Quasireligious faith and the spirit of sacrifice were no longer found in themovement. Their place was taken by the effort towards &#039;positive&#039;collaboration, which in this case meant acknowledging the existing stateof affairs. Such a gradual whittling away of the rough comers of thequestions in dispute resulted in the making of a dishonorable peace.Such was the fate of the pan-German movement because, from thestart, the leaders didn&#039;t realize that the most important condition of successwas to recruit their followers from the broad masses. The movement thusbecame &#039;bourgeois&#039; and &#039;respectable&#039; -and only moderately &#039;radical. &#039;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Naofumi, post: 47504, member: 39"] 3.20 THE CAUSES OF SCHONERER'S FAILURE In my opinion, the collapse of the pan-German movement in Austria must be attributed to three causes. First, the leaders didn't have a clear concept of the importance of the social problem, particularly for a new and revolutionary party. SchOnerer and his followers directed their attention primarily to the bourgeoisie. For that reason, the party was bound to turn out mediocre and tame. The German bourgeoisie, especially in its upper circles, is pacifist even to the point of complete self-abnegation-though some may not be aware of this-wherever the internal affairs of the nation or state are concerned. In good times, which in this case means times of good government, such a psychological attitude makes this class extraordinarily valuable to the state. But when there is bad government, such a quality has a destructive effect. In order to assure the possibility of carrying through a really serious struggle, the pan-German movement should have devoted its efforts to winning over the masses. The failure to do this left the movement, from the very beginning, without the elemental impulse that such a wave needs if it's not to shortly ebb away. In failing to see the truth of this principle clearly at the very outset of the movement, and in neglecting to put it into practice, the new party made an initial mistake from which it couldn't recover. The numerous moderate bourgeois elements admitted into the movement increasingly determined its internal orientation. This preempted all further prospects of gaining any appreciable support among the masses. Under such conditions, the movement couldn't get beyond mere discussion and criticism. Quasi religious faith and the spirit of sacrifice were no longer found in the movement. Their place was taken by the effort towards 'positive' collaboration, which in this case meant acknowledging the existing state of affairs. Such a gradual whittling away of the rough comers of the questions in dispute resulted in the making of a dishonorable peace. Such was the fate of the pan-German movement because, from the start, the leaders didn't realize that the most important condition of success was to recruit their followers from the broad masses. The movement thus became 'bourgeois' and 'respectable' -and only moderately 'radical. ' [/QUOTE]

Name

Verification

Layout Options

Color Schemes

Reply to thread