ABSTRACT
A party that had such a strong tradition of theoretical discussion, and which could draw on the living tradition of Austro-Marxism, was bound, when faced with the dangers of fascism both at home and abroad, to attempt a theoretical analysis of fascism. Curiously enough the results were rather meagre. Some of the finest minds of contemporary socialism seemed incapable of reaching a concrete analysis of the most powerful and menacing political movement of the day. Without an adequate understanding of the true nature of fascism the party was unable to develop an adequate defensive strategy, and was outmanoeuvred by a ruthless opponent. The Austrian Social Democrats were certainly not unique in their failure to analyse fascism, in many ways their achievements were greater than most of the other parties, and they never made the dreadful blunder of the Communist International with its disastrous theory of ‘social fascism’. 1 In spite of many shortcomings the Austrian Social Democrats made some important contributions to the the theory of fascism, and their efforts were certainly not inferior to those of other parties. During the period of the rise of fascism, theory lagged disastrously behind practice, and it was only when fascism triumphed in Germany that the left was forced to rethink its position. By then it was too late.
