Abstract (eng)
The epoch of the Red Vienna massively shaped the political economy of Austria’s capital city, in particular the housing sector. Despite various obstacles the newly elected social democrats were able to implement central improvements to overcome the ongoing housing crisis. Although the local government failed in transforming the whole society, namely due to very strong external forces, the communal housing program known as the Gemeindebau, not only meant a paradigm shift from the free market to the public sector but is still providing affordable living space for nearly a quarter of Vienna’s population. The political agenda of the Red Vienna was driven by a very specific ideology of reformist Marxism, the so called Austromarxismus. In the presented Masters Thesis the main subjects are the underlying development theories of the Red Vienna public housing program, as well as their political and economic preconditions, and their social implications, limits and failures.