Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
OF THE CC LCY
June 1977
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381
380
'foday, ~~eref~r~tem d.n -p artioula.r , have become iihe
self-manageme nt role o f the working man in -asso . the pohtical Y successful self-management develop-
labour and in other self-managing communit ies ca~la~d 9:nd 0 f our further since in certain respects our
0
to his interests, as well as in the democratic -del:rlng cru:Kt _ all the mor~e~ind and som.e of its institutions
d
to make a timely and quick adjustment to such socioeco- ln effect, ent in lif e and in the system of government.
nomic and production relationships. Our society is now
r ~~-~:~g=pects of the political system and mod~ of
faced with tasks concerning the further development of '
1
. b . alist forces have not yet heen brought mto
al.ctlonwith ~~~ new d emocratic political form o~ social
'
the system of socialist self-management democracy, which
are no less important than those in the sphere of socio- I me . f '1 re to persiSt the
economic and production relations which we have started
'
I self-management. If thlS aa ure we . ts !nitial
l
to work on, in line with the Constitution and the As- delegate system would find it hard to get .nd of lalllk. ds
l shortcomings and would also become subJect to ln
sociated Lalbour Act. The establishment of these socio- r'
e . Socialist Y()uth i
.
system. A whole range of shortcomings in the operation
stable and ~fficient, provided it maiptains the leadership l
!
of organizations and institutions in our political system
of the working class and .of the working man in general, i'
suggests that bureaucracy and technocracy are still very
and provided he has in his control the key positions in \
strong, that our admiiUstration is complicated and there-
society, our society will ,b e able speedily, boldly, and fore prone to bureaucracy, that certain organs and organ-
resolutely to evolve all the various forms of democratic izations are too independent, that there is much un-
practice which are :nece$ary for our society'_s fu~ctioning I productive and duplicated work, that democratic com-
I
and its further progressive development. ThiS Wl~l at the
J
' munication between self-management and government
same time expand democratic freedom in our SQCiety, not organs, and 'between them and the whole of the social
along the lines of bourgeois liberalism, but along the structure, is rudimentacy, that many of our meetings
lines of self-management democracy, are empty and useless, that the decisions they adopt are
often not competently prepared, that the citizen in seek-
Ther-efore our society in general, and the Lehague ing his rights frequently has to cross many administrative
' 1 . . articular will now ave
of Communists of Yugos aVIa an p . ' . d long- hurdles etc. Conditions should, therefore, be created in
to draw up as soon as possible a ~o~prehe:nve rsocialist Which our society will deal more successfully with such
Tange plan of developi~g the pol=~ s~ ~is olong-term shortcomings.
self-management. The unpleme~ tate of . our society's Second, we have to continue enriching our political
plan will depen;d on :the actua. s . and the balance sr.ste~ 1hy .building into it forms of democratic organiza-
economic ~base, its socia l consclousness tion m wh1ch the pluralism of self-management interests
of social forces. other -the interests of the working people in associated labour,
d tal laws and sorne If- in various forms of interest unions for different fields
The enactment of fll? am~n n the system of ~ of rocilal life, and iin. the delegate svstem of sociopol'itical
communiti5 can assert themselves through democrat-
..I de self-management decision-making as directly and as
managemen h measures to d.mplement t e . g it ]nto freely as possible. Socialist self-management cannot exist,
legal and ot er rt al system and ~brm hieV-
in the sphere of the po 1 ~c relationships and a~ . function and develop except as a democratic system. Its
. th the already establish~ d production. overall political results must be a constant expansion
line w1 . Wecononuc sphere an
ed results i ll the soc
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of htun 385
and h u an fr.eedorn. Th
this or rna.n :freedoms s~ Problem of de 1 cannot eliminate all such short-
ist seif..:~;nterreiation ~~tw:~so be se:o~~atic rights The system ~t ~neconstantly affected by soci~al anta~g-
1 ccJllingS, because c~aft by the struggle between s~ciaHst
f~ction of t~ernent.. These righ~ democracy an~l1ns. of and espe f Y '=lnd those which operate 1n the
hl.S destiny fe h~orkmg man' . and freedotns soclal- 0 .-.kms
.~.~
self-rnanag~m .
ent orc.es Q., l't' l
, nd b s harp socia l an:<f . po 1 Ica
terrns of ' o Is Work s .rlght to be . a.r.e a
ability to ,:Jf~atlhity, derno~c ~~ intert;st.s i : s~~~ryol of Pp osite dlreot:on, a yld This is why socialist forces
o . t' n:s 1D the wor , . th
er work operation d , on contradic 10 .' 1 .al organs frequently reaot to em
In trying t 0 Ing People. ' an account- and r~po~lb ~ so~~ driffe~ent ways. It seems to me,
w e .h ave to conssee d th f
e utur.e in a I in sulbJeCt1ve and ryb 'ld up the political system we
between the pro~la~r What causes a ~e~~~r P~rspective, therefore, that asd:V~~ ~1 policy of the Le~gue of Com-
~ernoc:Mtic princip}.:ed dand constitutiona~? diScre~ancy mus~ alsoftYry gt~lavia and <>Ur socialist society gener~lly
bee. This discre . ..an . our social an Y .~tabhsh~ munJ.Sts o u t ible unity of action
aspects of that Panc:y lS sbll more or l d ~ohtlcai prac- which wou1d enssurehthe t~~~a~;oJ:Sassist the further
. thds sphere. uc ac 1 h'l t the
tive reasons fofr~~t~f~~~: are, no ~~u\~:U:!~~~J:~ d 1 pment o f socJJa.
ln . 1.1St s elf- management ' w I e a .
eve ot. mcreasing the ability of our democratic po-
depend on the subjective ; { good cmes which do not same une ' . 1 11 M-empts at destroy-
f.?r7e.s. These causes will c li. of the leadi.ng socialist litical system to fail eff.e cti v.e y a a,,.~,
limiting factor in our tte e rtalnly continue to be the ing it. . . d
?r.atic dbjectiV<es of
In ntind such factors as th
ou: 80 ~~~ tto acco~plish the demo-
1S revolution. I have here
We must, therefore, make a new cr1 ~~al '~al~s1s. an
assessment of the functioning of our pol'ltical Institutions.
revolution and societ; ;h e .~~el of devel?pment of -the What we need to do, in my opinion, :is not so much al~r
the 'b asic institutional solutions, as improve a~d ~~Iify
in~ensity of soci~ conflic~, th~~P~~t ~~~~o~~~c~t!_h~ them. O ur chief objective is to adjust all the 1.nsbtutions
orusms on our Intern~ social life, and the like. Je
1
of the political system to the socialist and self-manage-
must not, how.e ver, rS}gn ourselves to the effect of these ment character of production relationships and to the
:factors on our political system, but must s trive persistent- delegate system of .aSSmlblies.
ly for democ~atic ~ela tionships in our poli tica:l system Thus, we should reject in advance any dilemma as
which are indispensable for the functioning and develop- to the forms of the political system which run counter
m e nt of socialist self-management and which all'e already to socialist self-management a s the source and objective
feas:i!bl,e today. of our society's democratic poHtica1 system. I refer to
This dichotomy lbetwe en principles and practice is the :n eed to l'eject such dilemmas because even in the
frequently cavsed 'by the subjective r~haviour ?f various League of Communists illusions are occasionally har-
social factors and people, BuTeaucratic cenirallsm, tech- boured that the one-party syst-em or the political plural-
ism of the classical parliamentary system can provide
nocracy the scramlble for political contr~l Qf m~n, and a way out of the contradictions inherent i n socialist revo-
similar 'phenomena in the sphere. of so:1al ,relati~~_:..~.~: lution and in socialist society in the ~nitial stages of its
. . ~ 1 nisin ~exceSSl.ve relaance on
~~t~JJan1.1Sill, op:,rr.... "'.~~
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away :as the power of the state over society withers awary.
forces for a c ent democracy ca~ pre derooc- This is, therefore, another sphere of social action where
ciples of s~elf-mana~~ and further retnforce we communists must not turn a blind eye to the realities
d~Lstortions and dev.J:artions
racy in society.
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for~.... bune, Which .,J
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n1Ind our I the same t. succeSSion f and sociohistorical develooments in it, an.d. so
c ear lon nne we o tr~"'..: .
If w g-terrn ob ' . must alw ~Q:tional the world factors of social consciousness and creahvlty
party o e are to forrnui t Jectlve. ays bear in I on. All. these in one way or another, to a greater or lesser
r one-part ate an alt must figure, level and in every sphere of self-mana-
lS the conce y Political s ernative to th
the plural.- pt o~ seif-manaYstems, then the e ~u~ti- extent, at devery_ 1 mn ..... agement so that self-managers or
ment an socla h th .
intem-ated ~m of lnter.ests ofgemlent Plu.r.alisrnmosth~ltbng ge
cu'""
ment interest union can see w ere e1r
a In the del se f-rnana . ' w Ich is a sel~-manrestageli . the general progressive advancement
i gernent pluralism h eg~t:- system. This ~fg communities own 1nte es m .
n our society for as ~n evolvin a nd .of self-man- '
of society and contemporary manlnnd.
~elega te system. it h almost thr de~adnd gcuning ~und ;'
s ecial significaJlce in all this attaches to the role
lc organism and has become integrate~ now; Wlth the ! of th:
vanguard socialist forces . the ~~gue of ~o~u
of our social and as. ~~ecome the genu~:to a ~emocrat l
'
nists and other organized factors of soc1alist co_nsc1ousn~.
be directed t pohbcal syst em All mohve force ' To lose sight of the role of ~1 those factors 1n the da1.ly
just such an ~wtards further strengtheni~ugr efdfot'ts should \ practice and system of socialiSt self~mana_g~ent and to
m egral and dem . an developing ignore its democratic nature, espec1~y. 1n 1ts de1egate
ag~nt pluralism. Similar! ocrattc system of self-man- system is to render the system of soc1alist ~elf-manage
tutlons of our SOciet all . y, all the democratic insti- ment ~viable, to compromise it. and make 1t. vulner~ble
rights ~hould be .ai~ed afe;sonal :elatior:s and human to bureaucratic, conservative and other reactionary. ~en
developing the political s upporting, reinforcing and dencies. Hence I believe that the definition of the pos1tion,
democracy. ystem of self-management role. and social responsibility of all organized factors of
socialist consciousness, headed by the League of Com-
the This me~ -that in order to implement and protect munists is one of the most important tasks in the further
democr~t~c pluralism of self-management interests '
improv~nt of the political system of socialist self-
we must c~tic~ly analyze and consolidate the syste~ management.
of d~mocra1:1c nghts and human freedoms. We must This is neeessary because the League of Commurusts
proVIde all the necessary safeguards to protect these '
itself is sometimes hesitant as to how much social respon-
rights ernd freedoms from being v:iolated by teclmocratic, sibilitv it should assume. 1 would only like to recall our
monopolistic and similar encroachments, or from being hesitations and soul-searching over the introduction of
misused for purposes that are not in keeping with the sociopolitical . into the assembly system. This
system of socialist self-management and its democratic '
was partly why the socio-political elect:d at
precepts. the first elections failed to live up to our expectat.-ons.
For the same reasons we have to continue resota!:~ly There was indecision, too, as to whether th.e League of
opposing all forms of the so-called theory of spontl :r' Comm1mists should be represented in the Presidencv of
the SFRY and -m tile . of the republics . aod
Which claims that the working man can competentan!uslye ''
provinces. There was also opposition to th-e establishment
. . his social pro~ spon ~ ' '
dec~l~DS and foster di g to v.rhat is going on around of social councils such as the federal counei is for the
emprr1cally, -by r~pon n on the organized forces of social system, for economic development and economie
1
him, without _h avmg ~:~cialist creativHy. policy, etc.
socialist consciousness t democracy does .not ~ only ~ative to this kind of demoeratieally
The system of self-~ag~:eous initiatives, wo:k- responstble position of the League of Communists of
l f the citizens spon If agement lll-" Yugoslavia in society is for the League of Communists to
consist on. y o ordt rs' councils, se -man d the like, (
become divorced from the system, to become a social
ers' mee~, ; S:stem of gov~rnment ~ society, its
I'
ong ag '--u 'this and res 1 . titutions are involved, then, of course, the
-.:;,. :o. ro1e of th o Utions W
.s: lna]}b- I
unP<>rtan . J., Want t
e Le . e
ague of C qUite
. g3Jl5 ~d ~~~the autonomous .provinces ~hould take part
take all ce Which . o l'nention a onunu- reptlbliCS edure of democratic consultation, too.
th lS all noth in the proc
our estab} e necessa too often er task of .
Political lS.hea. insti~tanct Possi'bl neglected. ;rticuiar I
!
~ciall SYstem to f 10~ and e rn~asure.s e lllttst '
III
JUrisd.Ytiresponsi'bl..o. uncbon in . organlzations to. enable 1
lc on ~ lllann a free d 111 th I All this once again points to the need for defining
now, th and .Powe er, Withi , emocra . e
offi . e respons. b u .rs. As th. . n the litn. 4- - tic, and tus of the leading socialist forces and particularly
Clals in I 1 ties of .Is ls not 1 1~ of their ;
the sta apolitical organizations in our society. From a
~ertain caseso~~. Political sy~rne organs, fnr;~rs . the case I of soctstandpoint, these organizations used to occupy
. ons in self- ls lllay Serio rn a re not v utJons, and ~rroa;zne posi'tion as all other social organizations. In
VIOUSly, this hap pe beonger one and th and forrnal re- formally incorporated in th political system as a part
can still imp ns . caUSe in our .e same thing Ob- of the delegate system. As a result, some of the methods
the QUestion osef themselves as posociety narrow ~ups employed by sociopolitical organizations, and even the
liti o the status wer centres l-,.,. __ League of Communists, will have to be changed. This
P o ca l organizat and responsibilit ' ~use
the b est way T-h Ions_ has not a1 ways b Ies of socio- applies more particularly to democratic communication
organ ti . ' us, It often ha een resolved in between sociopolitical organizations and working people
~ ons Improperly inte P~ns that sociopolitical democratically organized in their self-managing and social
responsi ble self-man em rvene m decision-m alting b ''
' organizations.
gans and organizationsag enlset, gove rnment and social of-
by ' or e leave ,..J,..,. In these self communities, organizations
organs and organizatio . ~ISions to be taken
responsibility to society A ns t;:'hich have no democratic and soo1W organs, problems ~uld be dealt with demo-
.POI'tant, CatUSe of such j. no er,. maybe even more im- cra~can.y! i1n democratic and responsible :on with
agement and social IS that some self-man- S?CI?political organizations and other originators of so-
. Oigans, and especitaNy ~~ t ~Ialist creativeness. Alternatives a nd possible conflicts
executive organs and their tit t ~" ernmen
li~ely to ~ in t his democratic process should then be
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such a monopoly.
them where none can be found. Such protests hamper .18 The historical task of socialist and democrat~is~::=
t
socialism, .because they set up a confllct between revoth new fonns of democracy that will suit e c than
tion and counter-revolution, instead o f broaching e Production and socioeconotn!ic relationships, rather
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398 399
building castles in the air rby trying to . and attacks against our democratic system of pluralism
that cannot be combined. It is impo 'hlcornbine t hings
set or accomp~~ this objective if it i~l!b e, however, to of self-management interests, there is actually only one
an abstract poll tical citizen, or on th ased_ on man as alternative to tha.t system. ~n~ that is the political
an abstract notion, .rather than on th e wo:-kln g class as system of bourgeoiS. st~te, e1her 1n 1~ multiparty or in its
from exploitation and subjection to e wor~ng man fred one-party form. Thts. IS t~e alternative which we reject.
monoP?ly, who is a direct exponent any kmd of political And since we are aga1nst 1t, we have to continue opposing
of particular and social interests. of a Whole complex all attempts, both at home and aJbroad, to impose on our
We willl not deny tJha't euttent la..
society either of the two forms by trying to intervene
criticism of the state of d..om o JWUt.evalnst all1id 'UJ!tna:r,...J-:>N... l in our internal development.
In socia 11st practice
. a.s ~
. sometimes
era .1c f1 t' aiUl"VCW,
. . a Ions and rights
however, in regard to only Just;fled. Ii is justified Komunist, Belgrade, 20 June 1977
that t~e leading forces of socr~~tof lts .aspects, namely:
much mfluenced by obsolete prac~ce are still very
the political system which o . ~nse~attve dog.m.as about
ism. These forces, just .as ~~:ated 1n ~he era of Stalin-
bourgeois political plur-alism whend:7atrc ch~pions of
are inclined to defend -certain fo a sys~m 1~ 1nyolved,
the one-part lit rms and Institutions of
nfli . Y po leal system that have long b
co . ct With what the democratic system of s~:u~~
SOCI7ty ~eally requires for its development. This state of
affm~s results ~rom ~and . is influenced b y technocratic .. ; :. ..
~d . bure~ucratic. tenden~tes tow~rd ~olitical monopolf ..:, r.~~
In governing society, which are m eVIdence in modemf :_ : ~ .., .
socialist as well as capitaBst societies. It is also .affected \ j. ~ 7
. . .
of associated labour, in securing their collective and We could b7 considera1bly more competitive abroad
properly organized access to foreign mark~ts, and in even. on ~he ?asLS of our present labour productivity if
inoreaSi'IlJg 11he resrporus.iJbillities of iftle oc-ept11bluos ood prov- r~la.ho~hlp~ In our ec~omy were better balanced. Many
inces for the oort'ional lblalllaalce of paymenlts. This wiH d~f1c~l~ties tn our . foreign. trad~, particularly in exports,
be an important means of removing weaknesses in this ,, arJ.Se ~~cause, owing to 1nflat1on, our production costs
system. '
I
' keep rJSing, because some of our capacity is idle 1because
Of course, this 1s not all that Temains to he done our economy is overlburdened with taxation, bedause our
because many difficulties and problems in this spher~ '
'' g~eneral ~d collective co?-~umpt.ion i~ far too high. Exag-
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also ra.zUse for Qther re~. For example, we are relying ''
.
gerated Investment ambitions likewiSe affect prices and
far ~ much on production which depends on exports and I the balance of payments. We must take energetic steps to
foreign technology, and so are importing even what we combat all this.
oouLlJd .eoono:miiJOalll y pr!Oldfuoe ou~sel'Ves. We deo:irled, prur.tly I Cer~in e:c~er~al factors have also 'b een responsi)ble
for th1s reason, to change our structure of production but for the Instability In our economy. Yet, the internal rea-
we have 'been moving all too slowly in the realiazti~n of sons are of overriding importance. These can lbe seen :in
these decisi~ns. In this r~pect we must make a resolute ~he holdovers. of anachronistic relationships in our system,
ab~t~turn. m ~u~ production and investment orientation. 1n. the b.eh_avtoUT' of many people which is incompatible
It 1s likewiSe Indispensable to stimulate and develop our l' Wlt? soc1a~t self-management. There are still many cases
own technology.
of JUst pay:Ing to 1fule esbalblliShment -of IIlleW re-
This certainly does not mean that we should insulate latio~hips. ~a~ .decisions, particularly concerning the
ourselves from the world market. On the contrary we earn_u~g a~d divlSlon of incom-e, are often taken without
mu.s~ ~a~e ~ of all the .advantages offered to us our by I'
parti~Ipatlon of w_or.kers in the basic organizations, or by
participation m the international division of labour. It is secur1ng only their formal agreement without informing
an esse~tial condition of our development. But, in this them properly about the true significance and consequen-
connection, we m ust mak e a thorough study of our fo- ' ces of :these d~. llll lfftris manner, dec1sion-mallcing is
reign trade policies for each market in turn, and in the ' sep~ated from d1rect economic responsibility for the
lig~t of the policies of othercountries. At present the deClSlons taken, for the interrelation ;b etween decision-
maJor part of our foreign trade is directed to the western ~~ng and accountability is actually the -k ey to the ef-
m-a rkets. We do not always encounter sufficient under- fiCiency of the system of self-management. Hence there is
standing from our major pavtners, and our deficit with excessive consumption at the expense of the economy's
that area is almost intoleralb1e. We must look after our viabil~ty, excess~ve reliance on loans, the passing of -b usi-
own long-term interests and must look for markets where ness risks onto society as a whole, and other causes of in-
we can pay with our expol'ts for the major portion of flation and spiralling prices.
?ur imports. We must devote special attention to foster- In conditions of inflation, for example, the -income of
mg economic cooperation with the developing countries,
ogranizations of associated labour is more vulnera ble to
'Yhere opportunities a re still far from being properly uti- ihe uncontrolled fluctuation of prices and the measuree
l'lzed. taken .b y sociopolitical communities, than it is sensitive to
the productivity of la1bour and a correct business policy.
In order to successfully compete in any foreign mar- This discourages workers from having an interest in earn-
~~ we mu:t, of course, be c-ompetitive. To be competitive, ing their income on the basis of remuneration according
~t JS. albove aH, cto keep mising ~holm- productW- to wor:k done, and stimulates tende~ies of wege-level-
1~ m order to catch up with the more developed econo- ling. In such conditions there can be no long-range .p lan-
~tues, so as to reduce the outward flow of a portion of our ning.. Decisions which dbjectively have a long-term effect
mcome .. ~ome of our enterprises have reached a level of are frequently taken on ttihe 'bAsis of expendiency .and mo-
prod.uc~1v1ty t~at has made possible their successful access .
mentary situations. This is why inflation is a great evil
to the International market. This example should be emu-
.
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414 0
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achieving such a goal. It has already proven Its wor~li:
living conditions that correspood to the level of hls social !
1 the pernormance of our dele~ons and delegate assem
!'
and material development, to develop his all-round crea- ' during their first term of off1ce. - - . .
i
tive abiliiy, to live truly as a human being. We must also not lose sight of some short~om1ngs m
'
Of course, we do not claim that everything in our the past functioning of the delegat~ system. Fu-st of. ~,
system is functioning faultlessly, or that where matters the delegations of associated labour m delegate assemblies
have been regulated by the Constitution, all problems I did not have enough .i:nfl~e. The work of some ~em:
blies has become a formality. for the process of d~on
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halve been l'ESOlved in practi.ce. Wlhen the nand I
~
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~iarted Labour Act were and on other occar making has been reduced to a mere adoption of decisions.
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416
fair. It must not be used to d~ame . lities or the
I shall cite just one example. The allocation of funds for work and results of self-mana~ng communities. Every~
certain public services is continuing to grow beyond our nrust bear irus share of , and even appropri-
real means in spite of all warnings. This fact indicates ate social sanctionst in with his duties and
that associated labour still does not have the decisive
voice, particularly in assemblies of the self-manage1nent powers.
interest unions. The fostering of democratic relationships in the local
When the delegate system was introduced it was community and commune is essential to the development
feared that the delegations and delegates might ~uccumb of socialist self-management democracy and t he delegate
to the pressure of particular and local interests. In cannot system in particular. By introducing various mechanisms
be d~nied that there have been such cases. However, for direct consultation, negotiation and decision-making,
practn~ 1has shown ~fibart; pall"biouJar dnterests do not predom- the local community should become the basic self-manag-
.inate wrbere~er the delegate systern truly .functions. Gen- ing community of citizens in which they decide on a
erally speaktng, the delegations and delegates have dis- number of matters concerning their day-to-day life and
played. a full appreciation of the need to reconcile dif- work. Such a local community, which is increasingly com-
ferent Interests when taking decisions. ing into its own, and the basic organization of associated
'Tfhe successful n of th.e self enlt del- la'b our represent the coxnersrone of the entire system of
~ate system postulates close and pennanent ca- socialist self-management democracy. Therefore the fur-
tion !>etween delegati~D: members and delegates and the ther development of local communities must be one of the
~orking peop~e and Cltlzens with whom they work and top priorities of sociopolitical organizations.
live, an~ particul~rly cooperation between the delegates tn exercising their self-management in the local com-
and their de!egabon. The first-hand knowledge gained munity, working people and citizens, via their delegations
from these .direct. co~tacts provides the delegations and and delegates, cooperate with working people of local
del~ Wirth g.wdellines for 1ihe posiltions they~ take in and other self-managing communities, and identify and
assemblies and other sel!-management bodies, and they coorrunaie collective needs and interests, first of all in the
are t~us truly able to voice the will and interests of the ~M/>."l/I."'U"''e attld then dn 1ftle sociopolitical ties at
working people who have elected them. However dele- higher levels.
ga~ o~ do not maintain such communicatio~ with So far there has not been enough of this cooperation
the1r c?nstltuencies, and some delegates de facto act only ~~een various self-management entities in the commune,
on their own behalf and :behave as in a representative and as a re9ll'lt the commune has not sufficiently develop ..
system.
ed into a self-contained self-managing community. In this
The constant communication 'between delegations and respect it is particularly important for the basic organiza-
delegaU:S and the working people and citizens should be tions of associated labour to start taking part in the sel!-
the 'basiS for monitorin~ the actions ot delegations and managem.e nt life of the commune. If they, as the genera-
delegates, for eval'US.tinrg their work and responsibility tors of income, interested in the widest-ranging coopera-
and for evaluating the ~ork and responsibility of self~ tion in the process of reproduction, have a corresponding
t~anaget;lent ~d. execut1ve organs in adoptin~ and im- influence on the politics of the commune, they will .be
P ementin g declBtons. There have been cases when the countering the still prevalent local insularity. By becom-
~dtotped decisions did not correspond to the real needs a.n d ing the plaoe where relations aTe regulated and all the
~~ erests o! 11he ~rlmng . people, l8!tld even more ~ruently vital problems in the life and work of working people and
in:ta~~~d decJstons were not put into effect. In these citizens pertaining to production, community life, wel-
fare, cultu:re, .etc. are dealt with, the commune will
gans shoulth the delegates and the sel,f -management or- grow into the kind of human community which Marx
tabilit be called to account. The question of accoun- described as the at last discovered polltlcal form for th~
of th/di~e~e~eral ls on~ of the linchpins in the operation economic emancipation of labour. When fully developed,
not !be cond ~ysNtem. Instances ot irresponsi'biH ty can-
8
the commune represen~ the b est form and basis lor the
But thil cri~ 0 one can be exempt from criticism. ln08t r.ornpl'ehenaive Hlf t democratic cooper-
must, of coutwe, be well tound.ed and
418 419
ation of working people in dealing with ma~rs of col- national equality. It. gives a new and different socioeco-
lective and general social interest, which can only and nomic and democratic substance to these relations.
indeed must according to the Constitution in the prov- The republics and provinces, economically and polit-
inces, republics and federation. ically equal, engage in mutual cooperation not only as
The self-management rights and status of the work- state communities but also as self-managing entities. Their
ing people and citizns and the equality of the nations and mutual relations are increasingly being characterized by
nationalities provide the terms of reference for the func- precisely those features that form th~ co~ of self-manage-
tioning of the goverment agencies. Accordingly, the status menJt tin general freedom, equality, mterdependence,
and role of the government and its agencies are altered responsib ility and solidarity. For this reason our nations
under the systei"? of self-management. By virtue of the and nationalities are t oday more united, and the cohesion
d~legate. assemblies and the growing practice of dealing of our federal community is stronger than ever ,before.
w1th vanous matters previously regulated by law through We need only recall t he recent past, when nationalistic
self-~anagement agreem.ents and social compacts of forces tried to undermine intercommunal relations and to
work1ng people and the1r self-managing communities deflect the course of our development from self-manage-
what we call the withering away of the state is taking ment which they regarded as the greatest obstacle to
place. Wherever a decision by government organs is nec- their purposes towards 'b ourgeois nationalism, separa-
essary. tantd sudh decisions w ill still be needed for a tism or bureaucratic centralism. We energetically dealt
l?ng time to regulate general working and living condi- with these threats to the self-mana;g eme nt develop~nt
tions such a d ecision in fact reflects the needs and in- of our federal community, and further consolid ated the
terests of associated labour and society as a whole. In this equality, brotherhood and unity of our nations and na-
way the go':'ernment becomes an instrum-e nt in the hands tionalities. Of course, this does not mean that there is no
of the wo:rking people in exercising socialist self-manage- room for i mprovement and further development in this
m<ent.
area.
The gov~nment administreative agencies, and partic- Consultation among the republic and provinces has
u!arly _.executive org&ns, not only should be under the t eliminated many previous misunderstandings and con-
d1rect Influence and control of the d elegate assemblies- I'
>
flicts in the sphere of economic and political relations.
as guaranteed under the Constitution but even m ore '. However, further eff orts are needed for the republics and
than .he~etafore must become receptive to the direct dem- provinces t o carry out consultations and reach agreements
o~~abc mfluenc~ and control of the working people and efficiently, without wasting time. Every postponement of
~1t1zens and their social and political organizations. This urgent decisions is harmful. We m ust strive to improve
1s at th~ s~e time t.he best safeguard against their ~b u and perf-ect methods of m ut ual consullt81ti.on and agree-
re~ucrat1zat1on. Certainly, when dealing with current af- ment so that interests can be coor dinated succes)fully.
falrs, these organs themselves must take the ne cessary '
!
I should like to emphasize that we must not relax
steps to remedy cases of a bureaucratic treatment of cit i- our vigilance against all instances of the revival of b u-
zens. reaucratic centraliStn, both in the federation and in the
republic-s and provinces, as well as against tendencies of
Self: management democracy ca,n not be complete local insularity. Such tendencies play into the hands of
unless eqUitable and democra.tfc r elations are estab llshed various nationalistic ideologies. And nationalism is a screen
among the nations and nationalities, unless each nation concealing the activities of the class enemy and other re-
and nat ionality has the right to a free and autonomous actiona.r y and anti-self-management. forc&s. !he ..m?St ef-
cultural, ~co.nomic ~d political development. Therefore fective weapon in this struggle aga1nst nabonahsbc and
any nati~h.stie egolSm or attempt at domination in the other forces which are pulling us back is greater coopera-
t~rm of etther un itarianism or separatism, is contrary to t ion cons,tltatiGn and agreement among the repub.lins and
d th n~tional equality and the system of self-management pro~inces. It is pat. ticularly important to promo~ . all
i:t~~clacy. Self-managem~t has introduced new features forms of seltmanagement cooperat lon among orgatna~
ntercomrnunal rel~tions and into the very concept of tions of associated labour and other self-n\anagcment t'l'lt t-
' .
420 -
EXCERPTS FROM THE RESOLUTION OF TifE
ties from different republics and provinces in tackling
matters of common interest. .
ELEVENTII LCY CONGRESS
Our socialist self-management democracy dertves
from socialist production relations, based on self-m~g~ june 1978
ment. The socioeconomic status of the woflkers ~ . as-
sociated labour his right to make sovereign declSlOns
on the means conditions and results of his labour is
the basic pre~ise and prerequisite for democratic rela-
tions -in self-management. And, conversely, the delegate
self-management system promotes socialist self-manage-
ment production relations. The socioeconomic position of
man and the delegate system of decision-making on pub-
lic affairs are two sides of the same coin, two inseparable The Eleventh Congress recognizes the need for the League of
aspects of the status, rights and freedoms of man. It is in Communists to make an active oommitment to
the nature of our social system that people, as producers - the further consistent implementation and effective
and self-managers, should consult with one another and functioning of a comprehensive system of socialist self...manage-
come to agreed terms in dealing with personal, collective ment production relations, which requires a creative ap-
and general social issues, on the tbasis of equality and mu- proach and strict Cf>mpliance with t.he Constitution, the As-
tual responsi-bility. Only in this way will they 'b e able to sociated Labour Act and all other baste laws;
- creating conditions for workers in basic organizations
exercise and promote human freedoms. There is no abso- of associated labour and other forms of associated labour to
lute Hberty distinct from human interdependence. Our make direct and sovereign decisions on income and its dist~
views of civil liberty and rights and our practice of dem- bution and on social reproduction as a whole, and on th1s
ocratic relationships in society are based on recognition
of this fact. .
o!
basis to expand the material base. socialist self-mana~ement,
to strengthen the social producttvtty of labour and 1ncrease
earntngs;
Eleventh Congress of the - achieving a dynamic growth of the economy an~ pub-
. . League of Communists of Y ugoslavia, lic services in stable conditions, accelerating changes 1n the
STP, Socwhst Tho14-ght and Practice, Belgrade, 197 8 structure of the economy and strengthening national technol-
ogy and promoting a steady rise in productive employment
and' the further all-round and effective participation of the
Yugoslav economy in the international d.ivis~o? of labour; .
_a further sustained improvement 1n hvtng and workxng
~ ..... . . ~ conditions and a rise in the living standard ~f work~ng. people
. as a function of increased income and a consiStent dxst~butlon
of personal incomes according to the results of work, w1t~ due
regard for the need to apply the principle of socialist solidar-
,.
.'
ity; -strengthening the material base and other conditions
!
for the e uality and all-round material and cultural. devel?p-
i.
..' ment andq free affirmation of all the nations and ~attonalities,
.
' re ublics and provinces of the socialist self-tna?aglng commu-
nif and in this context reducing differences 10 levels. of de-
vel~ ment of each economically underdevel?ped repubhc, par-
. . ul~ly of the Socialist Autonomous Provtnce of Kosovo. as
.' t tc . al average,
' compared with the nation .
- improving total national defe!lce and SOClal self...pro-
tection in step with material and social development. h
Co~munists, together with all. wo.rldng people. ra~e :h:
duty to work for a consistent reahzatton of the goa s tn
423
422
. self-managing organizations arid communities While advocating the pooling of labour and resources and
01
1
adopthed P al~s 0 f long-term development and the Social Plan various forms of integ~ation of lab~ur in general, wherever
and t e po Jcy f h
of Development of YugoslaVIa or t e per10
d 1976 1
to 980. it is desirable and feasible, commun1sts should staunchly op-
pose various artificial mergers an~ in~egrations~ which are un-
Organizations and leadership bodies of the League of Com-
munists are also expected .to h~l.p self-managi.n~ organizations
I natural and unnecessary, and wh1ch In fact shift the difficul-
and communities . and soctopoh.tlcal cot?mun1tles to step up ties of organizations having low productivity onto those which
their work and, zn ~ull com~hance w1th ~he Law on Self- have a high productivity.
Management and Social ~1annmg, to adopt tlmely self-manage- Communists must energetically combat instances in work
ment agreements and social compacts on the basic element and composite organizations of associated labour and other
of plans and social plans for the period 1981 to 1985 and t~ forms of t he pooling of labour and resources at a higher level,
~tart wor~ on elaborating the principles of the Iong-ra~ge pol- where the old, entrepreneurial method of organization is re-
ICY of nat1onal development for the period after 1985. tained, where the forms of association are a formality and
amalgamations are artificially created, where the process of
Cotmmt un~st~s, togetht~r wifth workers, and on the basis of
1
a cons an en 1ca scru tny o practice, are expected to mak association and cooperation is kept within local and territorial
limits, where unwieldy executive apparatuses are formed and
crearflive efforts to .pro~ote the organization and functiondn e
of the bas!c organizattoz: of associated labour in which thg decisions are taken without reference to the workers and their
workers will truly exercise their inalienable self m e self-management organs.
ht d t't t a1 . - anagement It is imperative for the League of Communists to strive
r1g s an con~ 1 u 1on soCloeconomic status. The workers in
basic organiaztlons of ass.ociated labour must become the real even more resolutely to transform the banks, insurance unions
subjects of decision-ma~1ng, thereby endorsing self-manage- and other financial institutions, and relations therein, into
ment as a genuine ~ch~evement of the working class, and self-managing financial associations of associated labour, and
the wo:ker a~ the pru~ctpal agent in social reproduction and equip them to carry out their functions successfully. Efforts
the entt:e soCioeconomic system. A major prerequisite for the to create internal banks in associated labour, wherever the
accomplishment of these tasks is for the workers to receive socioeconomic prerequisites exist for it, should be energeti-
ti~ely, com.f?lete and intelligible information on all issues re- cally pursued.
latlng to their material and social status. The League of Communists m ust conduct an even more
.(\t the same time, communists shall combat all state-own- intensive drive for the transformation of domestic and foreign
ersht?, group-owner-ship , looalist an d other monopolistic ten- trade along the lines of the Constitution, for the cooperation
de~?les and behayiour, .compliance with the letter but not th e {
'
between manufacturing and commercial organizations of as-
sp1r1t of the la'Y 111: setting up basic organizations, the autarky
socia ted labour on the principle of income-sharing, and for a
of ~hese organizations, technocratic pressures and the usur- nronger influence on the commercial sector by consumers
pation of the self-management rights of workers. o~gandzed on a self-management basis. In the sp'here of whole-
sale and retail trade, the old socioeconomic relationships and
The League of Communists shall encourage even m ore .. patterns, as reflected in the erratic division of income between
energ~tically t~e ~elf-management cooperation and association distribution and production, and in the monopolistic a nd in-
i
of bas1e organwat1oru; of a980ciat.ed 1abour into wor:k, compos- dependent behavio ur of commercial and manufacturing organ-
ite an~ o~her fon;ns ol :the poolmg of la bour and resources on I
r izations toward -the consumers, must be resolutely overcome.
the ~rtnCiples. of Income-sh aring, for t he p urp ose of achieving I Communists shall see to it that workers in basic and other
ma~m';lm soctal and economic efficiency. Wor kers in basic or- or.ganizations of associated labour should control their entire
garu~ations of associated labou r shall be the init iators of the
t
.
I income and make sustained efforts to increase it, primarily on
poohng of labour and resources in h igher f orms of self-manage- the strength of increased labour productivity, the pooling of
ment on the basis of their sh ared interests and needs, t heir labour and resources and an effective utilizati<:>n of ~urrent
~~u;~ d~dence and cooperation in the process Off labour, the and past labour. To this end, t}le ro~e. and function. of 1ncome
un~ementart;wn of coordinated joint plans a nd programmes as the basic motive for economic actlVIty and planrung, and as
o.f dev~~pment, together w'Wh the earning and distri!bu- }. the material fmmeworit for the satisfaction of collective an.d
public needs, should be consisten~ly strengthened. In b~Sic
bon of JOlnt. revenues and in come. Communists, organ izations
and leaderships of the League of Communists m ust r esolutely
' and other organizations of assoCiated labour and outside
~~pose th~ practice of raising and concen trating funds to fi- them energetic efforts must be made to remove ~he sources
wi~~e vanous development programmes in a way in consistent and forms of ownership monopoly, of technocrat1~, bure~u
self-management, or by means of various forms of pres- cratic and other kinds of monopolistic decision-mak1ng on tn
sure. come, which is cont rary to its social character.
425
424
income unrel~ted. to :vork, and. other practices that violate the
Workers in basic and other organizations of associated princip~e .of d1stnbut1on according. to work performance.
labour and in sociopolitical communities, by direct voting and It 1s 1n~umbent upon co~mun1sts to strive persistently for
through their delegations, shall lay down the general terms the expansion of the .matert~l base of associated labour as a
for the earning of income, promote greater market stability,
and to this end shall define and enforce a policy of prices and whole, the stre~gtherung o~ Its reproductive capability and an
policies in other areas of economic life, and shall have a deci- increased capacrty for capital accumulation. Conditions must
sive voice in the elaboration of solutions and measures of be created for a more effective adjustment of relations in all
economic policy which will determine the conditions for busi- phases and spheres of social reproduction on the basis of the
ness activities and the earning and distribution of income. Marxist theory of social reproduction and the Yugoslav so-
cial practice in the system of socialist self-management. This
Pursuant to jointly adopted goals and development needs requires a constant increase in income on the basis of a rise
the League of ~ommunists shall strive to accelerate the proc~
ess of the pooling of labour and resources. Self-management in indiviuual and social labour productivity, the allocation of
agreements ?n .the poolin.e- of labour and resources should net income that will assist the expansion of the material base
stat~ the obJectives, purpose, conditions and manner of the of associated labour, and the successful elimination of remain-
pooli~ of la~ou~ and resources. These agreements should ing, and prevention of new, sources and forrns of the aliena-
~nta1n ~e cnteru~. for the earning and distribution of joint tion of income. The policy of income distribution should serve
mcome, m .proportion to the contribution which the workers the objectives and tasks of agreed economic and social devel-
of the vanous basic organizations make with their current opment.
and past labour, or pooled income. The League of Communists must see to it that all deci-
sions concerning the extent and quality of fulfilment of gen-
ti The elabor.ation and practical application of the Constitu-
S:3 ~ ~Cla~ed Labour Act dealing with the management
~ ~ on o past. labour by workers in basic and other
eral and collective needs should be adopted by the workers
in the basic organizations of associated labour, who allocate
orgaruzatlons of assocrated labour are among the most im- resources for these needs, and that they should decide on it
portan~ tasks of the League of Communists and workin eo on an equal footing with the working people in the public
~~~ 18fpa~ularly imoprtant to lay down the standar3s pand
services, who provide services and on this basis earn their in-
come.
:~ ~ or ~ornlS of the .Poo~ing of labour and resources, It is imperative for associated labour and sociopolitical
be rding ~ 0 which the contrtbutlon to the income earned can
communities to draw up programmes of a<:tion and measures
estat~~edtn.ed and the standards and criteria should also be which will alleviate the indebtedness of the economy and pro-
J.Or the allocation of this income.
/.
. ;
the pooling of labour and resou and to promote self-man-
~cc:m~ that IS the result of special advantages (such as natural '
agement forms of the concentration of capital aecumulation.
of ~a~onst ;e~tdt etc.) for the expansion of the material base Communists should urge that loans and simUar levies on
ur s o also be formulated as soon as possible ' the income of organizations of associated labour imposed by
to The League ?f c;:ommunists must make day-to-day ~fforts
I
sociopolitical communities be kept at an absolute minimum.
theen!o~tathe prJnopJe of distribution according to work and The Eleventh Congress emphasizes that the constant rajs-
t res of current labour and management and use of ing of labour productivity is the only effective basis for overall
:'nt l~bour, and to promote a consistent application and con- I
economic growth; for improvements in the material and ~
fl
..'
tlon oo~t~~~:~~ent
the criteria iOVerning income distribu- ctal position of each individual, and for a succeesful aolVU\1
managem~nt enn se --management agreements und other self.. of many fundamental problema ln the development of our
Labour Act ~ctments, in accordance with the Associated society Hence a faster growth of 1ocial and individual labour
receive a ~..,,'n t~nt posdiUv~ ~xperiences in thfR respect ~hould produciivlty ta one of the ba3lc objt.-.ctlvn of tht- ~a.ru~ of
"'"' 1 -a
8
en orrJ~m~nt. Communiat8 and other IOdAI f&t10rl . The {Aagttl! of
munliU mutJt penist in effortJI to aiiUI'f! a pro~r attltu
cor;-
T}M, IAattue of Co 1
the
1
mmun .U huuld do iifA 'Ut.mo&t to ntmove toward work and tottal f'OIOUI~I. To thta end C{unmunl!ltt
tource~ rnr per;,~~~ Jf:;r:m-1 . l~ru~na in the alJocaUon of re- r r.hould oonetatntly atriv~ fn~:
_ __ thtt ctrawhttt up and tmpl.-rnttntatton t.lf pl~ n:
the roulta n! w.ot . Jt - w .(:h nl'c nut bused un work and l'n ranlnlel of detallt'd m<'aur" of ~nomk h~u~y ~
munlt. to ~han1 pton t~ hnperallv fur thtt Logua of Com rn.~ument of lh~ ~~ltUlml<'&)'Att'tl\ (elf ralatna f abt.U~r~
ot work ln all acuvua ':;"mnl nt wnrk und th~ ,.t.11!1U1tl dugUvlty in All baatc and uthr l~t..anlution n AM1 .
tauulew "ilnat ttndcr~'i ommunll mu1t wa1 a oontant
c "' o1 walvtlllna~. thn anln" of labn\lr ~
427
426
their income. In line wi~h joint plan_s and programmes of
_ improvement of the system of inc?m~ dist_ribution development of th~se services, the worktng people in associated
according to work, so that it becomes t~e matn Incentive both labour should dectde on the e~tent and patt~rn of satisfying
for productivity and for more effective m~nagement a~d needs in health, culture, physical culture, sCience, education
business operations in general, combine~ ~t~ an . e~er~etlc ublic services and other fields. '
suppression of wage-levelling and of UDJUstlfied distinctions p It is incumbent upon communists to make efforts to
that do not reflect a corresponding labour input and that are promote a more rational organization and more effective work
transformed into privileges at the expense of others; of the public services, to promote savings and a higher qual-
- a c~n.stant i~provement in the organization of work, ity of services, . and . a consistent obse~vance o~ soc?alist sc:
a more e~fiCie~t utihz:=ttion of productive and other capacity lidarity and trOOlprOOitY.. At the same time, an (lNarbional uti-
and working time, adJustment of production to the require-
ments of the domestic and foreign markets reduction of busi- lization of funds in these areas, a proliferation of paperwork,
~ess expenses, a cutting down of paper~ork improvements the creation of any funds autonomously controlled by the
In the system of information, and the promotion of savings administration, the buhl!cling of e~sive a nd luxurious facii-
and a more. responsi~le ~ttitude towards work and business; ities, etc., shouild be combatted.
. --:- .a Wider. application and use of modern know-how The League of Communists will endeavour to make the
sc1en~c, technical and te~hnological achievements; stepped~ self-management interest unions the auspices under which
up e orts. to develop national technology on the b . f workers in material production and working people in the
mo~ern science; greater social and material rewards f 0asia o public services, in the context of a free exchange of labour,
!essi~nal work, scholarly contributions and creativity ~Jo~ shall genuinely cooperate with one another, adjust policies
~~a e~ro~~~:;g~f~~~h~~~ugh be~er ~cono~c in~entives and reach agreements on the basis of independent and equal
rationalization of techni . e?ucation, Inven?ve work and decision-making.
system of education to ~~i -~~p~ovrments. In the present The League of Communists feels that responsible organs
the economy and societ
\\'Orking conditions;
I
In In~ ~th the needs of
y, and the humanization of work and
of social communities, trade unions and other sociopolitical
organizations, whose own specific social activity links them
- raising of the level of c0 to the activity of the self-management interest unions, may,
of business; work discipline and :fP~t~nce .and profitability and when special public interests so require, should be mem-
responsibility in all jobs with t a mm~stratxve and economic bers of self-management interest unions.
work of disciplinary bodies a~~ t~xcepbon; the more effective The Eleventh Congress of the League of Communists of
an adequate system of sancti ~ or~ans of v:orker control; Yugoslavia calls on communists to work for a consistent and
or damages caused by neglige:~ o_r lr responsible behaviour effective functioning, further improvement and implementa-
for violation of self-management us~ness and work; sanctions ~~~n o~ the self-management system of social planning. This
or for dam e d . an comradely relationships 1s a VItal P rerequisite if workers, in conditions of socialist
or through ~gl;;:~e. to socially-owned property deliberately commodity production, are to gain control o\Ter the conditions,
The results of stepped ff . means and results of their labour and the flows of social .
and technological base of-~b e orts to Improve the scientific reproduction as a whole, and if a stable, dynamic and bal-
,.I
of personnel and mater e economy, a better utilization anced socioeconomic development of the country is to be l
productivity should hel~l resou~ceshand a growth in labour achieved. Communists and all working people in basic arid
sociated labour im rov expan. t e material base of as- other organizations of associated labour, self-management
ers and strengthen pthe edt~e socroeconomi~ position of work- interest unions and local communities, other self-managing
Great potential for e .e~ce and security of the country. organizations and sociopolitical communities should tirelessly
found in the pooling of ~~smg labour product~vity is to be strive for a formulation of self-management agreements and
tages of the unity of th a our and resources, 1n the advan- compacts on the basic terms of the plans. It is necessary to .'
and in line with the real interests and cap.a 1 1 1e - and especially of SAP Kosovo.
sociated labour as a whole, as well as with ava1lable resources. I
To foster cooperation in the sphere of planning, it . is The League of Communists shall support the adoption '., 1
essential to build, on the principles of self-management soCial of methods of finmcing and improV'ing the effectiveness of .I
'
planning, an organizational mechanism of social planning the incentives offered by the community in t he implemen- .
.
that will rely on the existing organizational system of as- tation of the policy of the accelerated development of eco- $
sociated labour, together 'Wlit h ba:nk s, interest unions, cham- nomically less developed republics and SAP Kosovo, primarily
~
!
bers, the appropriate planning bodies of sociopoliti'Cal commu- by virtue of the complete mobilization of their own forces .'
ni-t ies, etc. Irt is also necess81cy to devise a uniforn1 methodol- and increased responsibility of the individual working people
ogy and a oollat ed body of statistics and documents to be and associated labour as a whole in the individual working
used in the system of self-management planning. people and associated labour as a whole in the underdeyeloped
The Eleventh Congress of the League of Communists of republics and SAP Kosovo. The League of Commun1sts be-
Yugoslavia notes the imperative need for the further de- lieves that a more conscientious approach and greater as-
velopment of the unified Yugoslav market, as a vital prereq- sistance from associated labour and society are required to
uisite for a rartional social division of labour and a better accomplish the objectives laid down in the plans of socioeco-
balanced and more efficient growth of the productive forces nomic development, and that investment ~eso~~ces sho~d be
of the country, for the equal rights of working a people and allocated accordingly, and a higher profitability ~f Invest-
organizations of associated labour, and for their more ex- ments ensured. The measures contained in plans for th~ faster
tensive cooperation on the principle of income-sharing, in line development of economically less develo~ ~epubli~ . and
with the operation of market laws and subject to the social Kosovo, as well as the aforementioned and Similar addtti~nal
guidance of economic development. measures, should be applied to ensure ~e faste~ J><?SStble
development of SAP Kosovo. The respons1ble a!Jenc1es 1n. t~e
Communists in their activities must strive to break down republics and provices should assume the pubhc responsibil-
regional barriers, to ensure a free circulation of goods and .i ey:. for the effective use of th~ resources from the Federal
social resources, a greater mobility and more rational utili- Fund for the purposes for which. they are allocated. These '
zation of the resources of social accumulation, an unhindered objectives should be brought ~to Une wit~ the social plans
movement and pooling of labour and resources within the of development of the republics and proVlllces and of the
unified Yugoslav market. Communists must endeavour above Yugoslav self-managing community as a whole. .
all to create the necessary social and economic conditions Implementation of the agreed policy of .accelera~ed de-
which will eliminate the sources of local insularity and self- velopment of the economically less developed repubhcs and
interest and to devise practical instruments and carl?'. out SAP Kosovo must be constantly monitored, and the necessary
effective measures to prevent the use of monopoly pos1tton~ actions and measures to carry it out must be taken. '
the aporopriation of income which is not the result of w~r Criteria for determining the level of devel?pment of
and violation of the income-sharing principle, and must stnve republics and autonomous provinces for ~he per1od 1~81 ~~
to prevent political pressure from being used to enforce an 1985 must be established, and the qu~tity_ and quali~ ria
administrative territorialization of social resources. the support measures established on this ~aslS. These cnte
A more rapid development of the economicall~ less 0 df u b used to determine which republics and autonom_qus
vel oped republics and especially of SAP ~osovo 1s .o~e a Wl
proVln eces are to be considered economically less developed in
. .
the overriding tasks and goals of our s.o<:I~ty' requx~~!ted the period after(
1980.
Co nists of
broader assertion of the role and responsxbihty of ~ 880
The Eleventh Congress of the Lea~e o~ mm: ~c
88 tieS .
labour. Special eff~rts. should be ~ade to foster bustn~onorn Yugoslavia n:s~~~~:e~~:m~~t~ ~~~~~~=~ :f SAP
between the organizations of assoCiated labour from fons bY features o h. b would begin n arrowiag relative
ically developed and those from less developed ~eg sou~ces, Kosovo, w 1c
means of various forms of the pooling of labour an r~th corn-
on the principles of income-sharing, in accordance 'Vll
j
430 431
will be a key to the better balan~, more ~ven and stable secured and of in?ustrial ~apacity whose products cannot be
development of the entire country In the period to come .. sold in the domestic or foreign markets;
The Eleventh Congress of the League . of Communts~s the devising of solutions which will create conditions
believes that the implementation of the ~hey o~ econo~c for an ~ffective eli~ination of the basic causes of losses, by
stabilization still represents one of the. maJor soc1oeco~omtc readjusting production programmes and by efforts to promote
and political tasks. To this end, communists must energetically more efficient business in organi;Zations operating at a Joss
strive for: a faster formation of material and other reserves ui
- a greater and more economical output, in line with associated labour and sociopolitical communities within a single
the requirements of the market and economic activities, on unified and efficient system.
the basis of higher labour productivity, a better utilization of The League of Communists shall seek to promote all-
capacity, and a steady reduction in production costs in each round and equitable economic cooperation with all countries
basic organization of associated labour and in associated la- and regions in the world, and particularly with the non-
bour as a whole;
aligned and developing countries. It is the task of communists
- a socially rational use OJ. inoome, and improvement of the
count:y's posit~on in international economic relations by a long- in organizations of associated labour and their associations,
ter~ ~ncrease In exp~rts, achieved thanks to a higher degree and in the competent organs of the federation, republics and
of f~nzsh, better quality of products and services and profi- provinces to encourage the ela~oratio~ of ~ong-r~ge pro-
t~bility! a better balanced regional structure, and more ra- grammes of Yugoslavia's economic relations With foret~ coun-
tional Imports, all thereby helping to lower the balance of tries in general and with individual countries an~ regions, on
payments deficit: the basis of mutual interest, and to adopt effective measur:s
to implement these programmes in a consistent manner. This
. - formulation and implementation of a programm~ ~of
saVIngs of all resources used in reproduction in associated implies a constant adjustment of the develo~ment plans of
labour; organizations of associated labour to . the re9~I~ements of an
effective participation in the international ~IVI.SIOn of. labour,
. - ~onsistent implementation of an anti-iflationary policy the raising of exports and a rational substitution of n~ports.
In th.e field of consumption, credit, monetary and fiscal policy, It is imperative to expand modern forms of econonuc co-
and In all ot?er areas of economic activity, especially in the operationt joint ventures and other forms of long-term co-
sphere .of pnces and cost of living, and the prevention of operation.
tendenct~s to solve problems caused by inefficient business The League of Communi~ ~d all other. social fa~tors
by exerting pressure on prices; will continue to take an active Involvement xn the actions
. faster changes in the structure of the economy, in of progressive forces in the world to change the pres:nt
line w1th the plans draw~ up on the basis of self-manage- inequitable international economic relations an~ to establish
ment a~reeme;t~s ~nd social compacts, as a prime f actor in a new international economic order. Communists have the
economtc stabilization and a more dynamic and better bal- duty t o encourage activities aimed at effectively imJ?lement-
an.ced .eco~omic g~o~h, and the channeling of investments ing the tasks laid down in the Economic Declaration and
pnmanly Into actiVIties of common interest, especially for Action Programme of Economic Cooperation adopted at the
the. faster development of the production of energy, raw ma- Fifth Conference of Nonaligned Countries at Colombo. These
~ertals and food, for the sake of a rational substitution of assignments should be fully incorporat.ed .into the dev~lop
Imports and raising of exports; ment programmes and plans of organizations of assoCiated
-- formulation, adoption and implementation of a joint labour and other agents of planning. . ..
1t is exceptionally important. to step ~p actiVIties in or-
energy policy, which will be based on a rational structure ganizing and training self-managmg assoCiated l~bour as the
of the production, transmission and consumption of energy, basic vehicle of development in t he sphere of soc1al reprod~c
commens'!rate with the available domestic energy resources tion, with an increased role and. respon~ibility of t~~ republ~!
and a rati?nal policy of importing energy; and autonomous provinces for 1mprovmg the P~Sition of t.
- a.dJustment of output to the demands of the domestic
and foreign markets republics and autonomous provinces for imJ?r.oVIng. the ~~;
' tion of the country in international econormc relat! 0~ of
~djustment
earned Income of all forms of consumption to output and calls for speedier action to complete the reorg~1~ ~~
0
' the foreign trade network ~d t.o prepar~i~~a~::z_ foreigd
!ormulation of realistic investment programmes, and f-inancially .a nd personnel-~, m~ctlons joint business
energe~Ic steps to do away with unsound investment, over... economic relationst economic cham~er lved i,; the execution
extenslo~ of deadlines for completion of building projects, agencies abroad and ~ther facto~st mv~ them on an operative
construction of facilities for which the funds have not been
of agreed policies in this fielcL an pu
432 .
l 433
;
!
\
. .bl In this connection, communists shall
roduction an~ other forms of busine~ .cooperation, thereby
~e a:o ~u: ~nue~ber of administrative ~easures and ~eatly incl'easmg e~ployment opportumti~.
any excessive fl uence of government
m . organs
. t the
d 1n sphere
t ngthen
of ~nomic relations with fore1gn countries, an ~ ~ re In view of the Importance of a dwelling for the work-
the role and responsibility of those \\>'ilo make dec1s~ons there. ers' welfare, and in view of the economic and class nature
Greater efforts should be made, and the republi~, auton- of the housing problem and the importance of housing con-
omous provinces and all social factors should have 1ncreased struction for the entire economic develop m ent, t he League of
responsibility. for equilibrating the country's b~ances _of for- Communists calls for the a doption and implem en tation of a
eign e_~ch~oe and of payments by continually 1n~~1ng ex- housing policy in the basic and oth er organizations of asso-
ports and bringing deficits and foreign debts to Within agreed ciated labour, in local communities a nd ~elf-manag~men~ . in-
limits.
terest unions, in the communes and higher soCiopolitical
In order to help realize the right to work, and promote communities, and is in favour of th ? kind. of socioeconomic
a speedier employment in productive jobs and a reduction in relations in which wor king people will deCide by themsel~es
unemploy1nent~ communists shall strive to achieve a dynamic on the meeting of their housing ne~ds from t~e planrung
and stable economic activity~ faster development of the pri-
vate sector as an important factor in the overall economic and securing of r esources for .h ouszng constr~c~Io:-, _to t~e
and social development, a fuller utilization of production management a nd maintenance of .apartme~t bwld1ngs. This
capacity and working hours, especially by introducing shift is the precondition for a further 1ncre~e In th.e volume of
work, and a better and modem organization of labour. Part- housing construction, stabilization of pr1ces and Improvement
time work should be reduced to the absolute minimum and in t he quality of apartments, a better managem~t of t~e
.
any unlicenced work should be prevented. All this should' housing fund and the further affirmat~on _of ~oCioeconomtc
make possible the opening of new jobs. For the same reasons relations in using apartments and of sohdanty In the sphere
the League of Communists disapproves of work-able and of h ousing.
relatively young people retiring and then taking the same Workers in all basic and other organizations of associated
or a different job at a full salary. The League of Communists labour and in all the self-managing organizatio~s and co~
considers that retirement regulations which permit such in- munities must view their housing needs in the ltght of thetr
stances should be changed as soon as possible. development plans and must establish programmes and ~et~
The League of Communists must energetically seek mor e ods of dealing with housing req:uirements as well as cntena
employment for women and young people, particularly those for the distribution of socially-owned apartments.
who have just completed their education. Social compacts on The League of Communists wants to see the W?~king
employment must be consistently observed, and any resistance people, in accordance wi~h what. they c~n affo~d, partiCipate
to the employment of young people and women and to their with their own savings m meeting thetr housing needs . . To
inclusion in the process of self-management must be combat- this end it is necessary to develop various forms of the pool-
ted with all available means. ing of their saVings in a proportion that will be established
The League of Communists must seek a consistent realiza- under a self-management agreement. A part of the resources
tion of the established programmes to enable a gradual for housing constru.ction taken fro~ income sh?uld be pooled
return of people from temporary work abroad, particularly in the self-management inter~t union for hol!stng for ~utual
of the skilled, and to find a suitable way of making use of aid The League of Communtsts wants certain categox:e~ of
their savings, especially for the opening of new jobs where 1 orne tenants to have a part of the rent substd1zed
ow Inc d
from special social funds. The terms an ~n .. tons o . dit" f com -
they can take employment themselves. More attention should
be given to the living and working conditions of th e workers mitting personal savings to purchase or rent an apa~tment
temporarily employed abroad and of their families, and to should be decided by worker~ !n as~ociated labour, 1n ac-
better protection of their status and rights. corcicince with the housing pohc1e~ latd down_. unr.~~ att~o~
The League of Communists and other organized socialist dal compacts in the com~une and other ~ociopo I ~e work-
munities. More encouragement sh<?uld b_e gtven to tuiring an
forces must commit themselves to the furth er development
and Pz:omotion of self-employment and must encourage ~he ing people and citizens u~ing thetr s~vt~J ~~r
apartment, and more ~ubhc s~ppo_rt s a
J:n by con-
formatio~ .of contractual organizations w hich lik ewise pro~de crete measures to housmg .cooperatives. _
. . ..
.
?PPortunities of developing productive forces and increasmg . The -Congress
. calls upon the
.1ead er~.hips o_.. f theently
League 01
In~ome. Economic p olicy measures should also be adopted to start
this. ~d. Essential in this respect is the continued proces~ Communists il) the r~publi~ and ~~VI~=:e:ot:~SformatWn
0
! linking self-employed labour with associated labour throug seekin~ solutio~s whi~ w . . secur are of housing, and on
different fonns of the pooling of labour and resources, co- of SOctoeconomlC ~elations ln tbeffe~p~t solVing of the prob-
this basis a speedter and more tCl
435
434
.. . mic and organizational conditions should be
. . d building a new housing
Soclo~c~~~t housing construction is I?atch~d by the con-
lems of maintaining the exisbng ~nl 't ation of certain cate- secur~d s f auxiliary amenities that wtll satisfy the. .other
fund, taking into account the ~~cta Sl u
gories of working people and c1bzens.
struct1on k ' g needs of the working people and citizens.
living and wor 1n
The League of Communists shall seek to create material " Referat i zavrsna rec Predsednika Tita,
and other conditions for a further development of self-man- Rezolucije, Statut SKJ"
agement by apartment users in buildings, suburbs and local
communities and for a further development of self-manage- (Report and Closing Speech by President Tito,
ment intere;t unions for housing~ as centres where basic or- Resolutions, Statute of the LCY),
ganizations of associated labour, local communities, tenants Komunist, Beograd, 1978, pp. 108 131.
and other subjects negotiate self-management agreements and
compacts for the development of their basic communities an d
units. These communities must establish direct links with
local and other communities, particularly in planning and
building housing developments. The management, mainte-
nance and .r enewal of the social housing fund must be decided
upon by the workers who set aside their resources for hous-
ing construction, together with the tenants.
The League of Communists shall strive to bring about
cooperation on the basis of self-management, income-sharing
and business commitments of all participants in housing con-
structionf starting from architectural design organizations, to
building contractors, to manufacturers of construction equip-
ment and building materials, to the commercial and oth er
organizations for the construction of a housing development,
so that economy, functionality and rationality of the apart-
ments and the housing development are the basic motive and
criterion for the forming of income of all participants in the
construction.
The League of Communists shall resolutely seek decision-
making by working people and citizens on a self-management
basis on all questions involving the development of commu-
nal activities, and on the special development of the cities
and other to\vnships, where local communities are expected
to play a special role. Every commune must speed up t he
adoption of coordinated programmes of the development of
communal activities and of improvement of building sites.
Reliable sources of financing must be found, on the basis of
self-management agreements and the pooling of labour and
resources, for the construction of communal infrastructures.
A portion of the resources for housing construction and of
the municipal land rent must be channeled for this purpose.
All this should help stabilize and reduce the cost of housini
F?r the sake of a better management of housing co_n...
struction, a more rational use of building sites and a benefiCial
eff~t on the process of urbanization, considerably more 8~
tentlon should be paid to land use planning, w hich wo~
encourage organized housing construction in t he countrySl e
and contribute. to a speedi~r economic and social developm~~
Wherever pos&ble, the pohcy of protecting arable land shoU
be enforced as much as possible.
-
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\
EXCERPTS FROM THE SPEECH BY ]OSIP
BROZ TITO AT THE EIGHTH CONGRESS
OF THE YUGOSLAV TRADE UNIONS
~
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CONFEDERATION
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November 1978
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fast as it could lbe. All forms of consumption are g:o~Ing
much more rapidly than the social prqdt:tct can reabstlcal-
I
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ly provide for. In short, we are consuming mo~e ~han .we
are producing. Accordingly, too much of a stra1~ lS being
put on the economy, a~nd it is going dee~r 1nto debt,
so that the m aterial ;b ase of self-m~agement 1s we~ened.
I This situation :breeds inflation, w~1ch threatens to beco~e
even worse than it is now. There 1s also a c~nstantly .h~;~
deficit in the balance of payments, as I . have po1n
...,
438
439
.,..........:..,;,..,
~
441
... -
440 hnocrati.c and bureaucratic m?nopoly. This is ba-
t~e tee true. But we must not lose sight of the fact that
bour productivity is still fairly low . in compa_rison with
that of the highly developed industnal countries.
s1call~cracy would not ~ave s.u~h a force if it did not
tec.hn support from certain pohtlcal ,fact<>rs, namely from
The existing problems clearly can not he resolved
overnight. It is a long process, -althou~h 1:here are ques- enJ?fcal bureaucracy. We know full well that bureau..
tions which call for prompt intervention and brook no
0
pohtl 15
. extreme ly tenacious and that it -cannot be easily
d-elay. It does not suffice to fight such instances: we must cracy t d This is why it s hould be fought wholehea-rtedly
uproo e
remove their causes. This is particularly important now, t all levels.
as we are preparing the medium-term plan. The League a You may recall that I have more than once warned
of Communists as well as all other organizations, includ- . . t bureaucratic arbitrariness by individuals and
ing the labour unions, must devote the greatest at-
0
1
t
he common aspirations of progresstve that has, in a
>
I
; the Working cla&s in particular, the cla:~other- taken
n~ber of countries in one w~Y or
this Path and made progress along It. . relations
.f production . ging
. Se.If-management. is a form ? t voice in ~an~ biS
' In Wh1ch the working man has a d:~ec and frUiiS 0
. of
f~d deciding on the means, con~ti= in all s~~our
'\
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!
corn lll can ?e ~uilt only !by free -~~ equ d lasting b&Sls
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445
corn lll can ?e ~uilt only !by free -~~ equ d lasting b&Sls
j
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447
:rni~ .ea.. all over the country, like a striJl~O into larger
'
national state and, what is more, it is historically not
an old state in which national diffrences would b e leSS uni or Islands which sometimes amatgamat, the enemY
pronounced. Yugoslavia is a new state, created onlY int ts, and at other times were broken up ~y of the na
after World War I, owing more to the force of the
I
tio~J~aller free territories, so that the~~ con,iointly,
0
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. s
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April1979
centre d1d n?t alwaysepry ublics and provinces, to the plementi.n g the Constitution and putting the Associated
i
nomic eq;t~:~n4-of th mepthem and to their different in-
0
0
0
Labour Act into effect.
CommuniS did not consistently observe them m of production and freely and on equal terms with other .
but ~ome pe~pl~o int out here that the Programme of workens in associated labour to manage his own labour
practice. I wishofC mmpourusts is a historical document of our
0 and the conditions and results of his labow:-. In this con-
the League o t so I nection, basic organizations of associated la'b our have be-
Party, which will for a long time ibe a signpos ln our .. come the basic forzn of the pooling of labour and
cialist self..management development. . resources, in which workers decide on the entirety of their
With the Constitution of 1963 and the ~nom.1c re- income and exercise other self-management rights. This,
f f 1965 we set a resolute course in the d'ltrect1on of of course, also applies to decision-ma,k ing on the resources
orm o , . .
deetatization and decentralization o gove
f rnment func-
d .d
f
i
I
which they pool with other organizations, in banks, in-
tions. Thereby we gave the producers more SC?Pe to eCl ~ surance unions and in various self-management interest
unions.
on the general conditions of labour and bUSln~ss an~~
questions of development. But even then we dtd not a- Relations b etween workers in production and those
ficiently insure oursel~ against the. danger of ursurpe- t
workers who with their labour satisfy their wants in the
fields of education, healtftl Md other public services, are
tion of the func~ions of descio~-m~Ing. by th~ m~~e, being esta1blished within self-management interest unions
ment in composite work orgaruzations, m ~ore1gn v- directly, without the intermediary of the state. In these
banks, etc. Nor did relations a mong repubh~ and pr~er unions they enter into a free exchange of labo~r ~d
inces on the one hand and the federation on the 0 .a1 equit~bly decide on the volume and mode of satisfying
correspond to the needs and the attained leve~ of ~ced public wants in these activities as well as on their devel-
development. Too much emphasis was still ~being . pl and opment.
on ~e federation's legislative function. The rel?ub~t,ing 'I
)
These changes created conditions for workers~ truly
ali...
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456 ' . 11 457
mOre successful b usi- '
t
were con 1nua y reduced and .
.4- and for a I It 10
' :1...
over by the c ommunes. Thew kWere Increasingly take
greater lcvboUT producmVI"Y al Obviously, re a! ns ~~C'.u
ness performance in. g.ene.~l .not come to therr fruiti?n lities of the communes were o~o~howers and responsi:bi~
as we have established W'l rm process. There are still commune gradually becam~ the . n~ally enlaTged Th
by themselves; it is a long-te t If the workers are not ment organization, in which wo~~~cipal form of g~vern:
forces that resist this developm~n~tution and the Asso- took part di rectly, {)n the principlesg f eople and citizens
aware of the power that !he ~em and if they do not 0
The development of the comm u al self-management.
ciated Labour Act. ~ave ~:on 1 ali
questions regarding amplification of democratic revol ~- system meant the
take charge of decJ.Slon-m . . ns may well become a mere which the national1iberatio~ com~~~~ar~h principles on
their la:bour, then tbesedre~a~ making might remain 1n
10 1
. hil true eC1SIOn- <iuring the war. es ad been based
garuzt:U SOCI d oth t t' name y' equa ! y In Inter-communal relat'10 The . ' <
lies and provinces acquired a new inde ~
.r..n~ the Socialist AlJi.ance an ers o ac IVe- rep':lb- l
As the new production relations developed, so con- the basis and the condition of our unity. This of course
tinued the process of changes in the political system. The is not som~thing that can be .resolved once a~d for ever~
direction of this development is determined by the deeply these .relations must be continually nurtured and per-
democratic character of our revolution. It was 'b ased on fected. T?e same goes for the principle of an equitable
the experiences of our armed struggle, on the revolution- consultation and agreement-making. However individual,
ary and democratic character of our national Uberation I
especially economic, interest might differ, our experience
committees. In their mode of formation, structure a.nd
work, they were the kind of government organs that the
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to date has shown that they can be fully realized through
democratic coordination and that the awareness of a com-
popular masses wanted, because they served their in- mon interest has always .prevailed over various particu-
teres1s. This is why they considered thern to be their own laristic and similar tendencies. In this matter, as in all
government. This revolutionary democratic character of others, we shall make no concessions to either centralism
government was in evitlence throughout the entire process or particularism.
of the construction of our political system, especially after The charncter of the government organs also gradual-
we introduced socialist self-management. ly changed. The change was best seen in the Constitu-
The effect of those changes was that decision-making tional Law of 1953, when producers' councils were formed.
on a number of public affairs, which had been within the Next, following the Constitution of 1963, ~be assemblies
competence of the state adminjstration, were increasingly became the centre of political decision-making, and under
tak~n over by the working- people and citizens through the 1974 Constitution the delegate ~mblies were set up.
ther self-management organizations and agencies. Tbjs The delegate principle of decision-maki?g lJ!akes up
~as particularly true of the sphere of management of so- the essence of our new political system. _It 15 ~mg ~
cially-owned , which we have already referred sued in all areas and at all levels of public decision~m~
to. ing, in the organs of self-management as well ase:bled
..
We have, of course, never lost sight of the need for organs of government. The ~egate system ~ me the
the state to act in the transiti al the working class and working people ~o beco
. . on pen.od as or . ..'
ruling political and economic force of sooety. . .
t::u=~~~ m certain public matters. This is why the ~
graduall bence by working peopre and citizens was Through the delegations and ~egates,thepol::J:
com t Y rougbt to bear in govermnent affairs.. The i' become a matter of direct practiCe~gbyorganir,atioo&. m .
..<
m~ or rather by their self-managJP
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458
munity as a whole, and to assume responsibilit!. for it. AgricultU:MI production was v.ery low. In the ten-year
This social pnqition makes it possible for our citizen ~ I period between 1930 and 1939, the per hectare yield of
develop as a free, creative personality, to develop all his bread cereals was 11 and of maize 16 metric centners.
creative abilities. . Small fanns could hardly produce e nough to cover their
, seO.lf-mtanagement is a e~~ce I own needs, so that agricultural production was largely
subsistence farming and maintained itself at the level of
and attainment of our working class in the exe~ of I!B simple ~eproduction.
historical role which iB to create a classless ~1ety. I~ ts
The per capita social production in 1939, calculated
nat by 'acciJdent
t :bhlat today IS atb:"aoting
at 1977 prices, was only about 7,000 -dinars per annum.
growing interest and is becoming the programme ~n:::d The situation was hardly 'better in t he spheres of
tation of many democratic and workers' movemen education and health. According to the 1931 census, 45 per
other progressive forces in the world. . develo - cent of the inhabitan1s over the ag.e of ten were illiterate.
Although we have suffered som: ~tbao::5~ we miy Fewer than two and a half thousand students were
ing our system o~ self-managemen .Since. d un~av.ering. graduated every year from all the universities and col-
cl~aim that our ma1n course fl:as ?ee,:e f~nt: .result of the I leg.es. There was one physician for ~very 3,236 ~abitants.
Its successful development lS -~~is of Yugoslavia, whiCh, Mortality was high. The average life expectation was 45
years for men and 46 -f or women.
action by the Lea~e of C omm;::rd of the worldng class, Here, then, was where socialist Yugoslavia had to
as a true revolutionary vang h. gs of the classic wol"ks make a start a nd what enormous efforts had to :b e made
has creatively applried ~h:e teac In
of Marxism to our condttlons. d asserting
to arrive at what we harve today! If the postwar develop-
ment is compared with the dev~op~ent attained at the
Socialist self-management. is more ant more This is bes t same time throughout the world, 1t will then :be seen that
itself as an efficient e conomic sys~~~~ 0i~ our postwar per capita social product in Yugosla~a in 1939 was 30c=
seen from the r.esults we have ac Ie cent 'below the world average, and lS today 34 per
material and social development. f the social above that average. f in-
With an .average annu . fa1 growth rate o
the period between ., Particularly rapid was the postwar growth 0 ew
product amounting to 6.~ pe cen~n: among the countries ! dustry which in the period between 1947 and 1978t. ~:~
1947 and 1978, Yugoslavia now r at an average
' annual rate of more than 9 per cen .... .lLID
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461
~eans that _today industri~ p~tion is fiftel!n times ing up the development of the underdeveloped republics
higher than tn. 194 7, or 18 times higher than in 1939. Tbe and areas, particularly of the Province of Kosovo.
grow~ of ag1'1cultural output could not be so fast, but Rapid and radical changes were duly accompanied by
very unportant chan,g es have been achi-eved in this sector certain difficulties and weaknesses. We are not free from
too. 1
problems and difficulties even today. We have openly and
As_ compared w~th the five-year average attned in articulately spoken about them at the Eleventh Co!U!l~
the mld-1950s, agt'tcultural production today ~ mor
than ~ouble. It is mo~ than seven times higher on
aodelist faztns. The : of tbe pai
th; of the LCY and laid down our clear tasks. There is no
need for me to talk about it at any length on this occagon.
I only want to point out that we should lose much if we
crops have been greatly and they have today failed to carry out these tasks thoroughly. Something has
reached the l~vel of top world achievements. already been done in this respect since th Eleventh Con-
. Notable successes have also been attained in other gi~ but more could have and ought to have been done.
f1elds of the economy. We should pa1tkularly the The probleruS of excessive C()JARn~ insufficient re-
development of economic relations with foreign countries. produCtiVe ability of the economy, excessive investruent
In 1978, the volume of foreign trade was more than 285 ambitions, growth of prices and foreign trade imbalance
billion new dinars, and only ten years earlier it was five are still facing us in all their acuteness. We must be more
times smaller. resolute in dealing with them, because if we do not do
so, they will multiply and may become a serious obstacle
This material development was attended by changes to our development. There are many other weakn6SCS,
in the structure of the population. The share of agricul- much absenteeism and so forth.
tural population has been reduced since the war from 77 W-e do not have to reduce our attained level in our
per cent to a-bout 30 per cent. The number of employed living standards in order to solve these problems, but we
has risen to about 5.5 millions, so that they make up to- must also not raise them above what we can afford, un-
day more than one half of the economically active popula- less it is related to a corresponding increase in labour pro-
tion. Women account for 34 per cent of the work force. ductivity.
The progress achieved in economic d~e~~ment ha.s Collective and general social expenditure are still
been expressed in a pronounce<f: growth m livmg stand: being decided upon without reference to workers in as-
ards. During the last twenty-five .years, personal con sociated labour, although nearly 40 per cent of the na-
sumption increaBed more than four tlmes over. . tional income is spent in that field. I must admit that this
We have aLso considerably raised the educational level is where self-manage.~nent is functioning the least effec-
of the population. In the year before last, for ~amptilet tively. Thls particularly applies to self-management in-
more than 48,000 students gradu~ted from unJversi es terest unions, where those who supply reso~ for pub-
and colleges, which is nearly 20 t1mes m.ore ~ .u:f;;:. lic services do not have a decisive influence.
Especially disturbing are the excessive investments
th~ war. The medical care of the po~ula~ than and the disparity between what is agreed upon and what
proved. The number of doctors has tnc.re m~ to- is done. We must make use of more planning, more con-
four times since the war. The average life expec y ;
recent years this increase has :been m ore than 200,000 per
annum. This i~s not a small numb er. It is sufficient to
absorb not only the total inflow of new labour tforce
particularly of young people who have just finished thei;
schooling, but also a portion of those who are unem-
ployed now, including also the workers returning from
the temporary employme nt atbroad. Special care must be
devoted to this question, and we must continually seek
out new openings for emp'loyement, including those avail-
alble in the sector of the self-employed. _
Despite all the sucCSSes that we have achieved in
developing our soc~alist self-management democracy, there
is no room for complacency. I think that we have not yet
organization and action which are contained in the Con-
stitution, the Associated La!bour Act and resolutions of the
Tenth and E leventh Congresses of the LCY. What 1 have
in mind is mainly the delegate assembly system.
At the last elections, in rthe spring of 1978, .almost
800,000 m embers of delegations were elected, p lus more
than 53,000 delegates to the assemblies of sociopoliticaJ.
, . When we add to lit the members of the
workers' councils, members of delegations to the assem-
blies of self-management interest unions and members of
the councils of local communities, it m eans that more than
3,000,000 people are directly, through the delegate system,
involved in political decision-making.
And yet, the delegate method of decision-making has
still not tb ecome firmly rooted. The practices of the old,
representative system have not yet been abandoned. There
is also a widespread !belief that it is sufficient to send a
delegate to an assernbly or another organ of self-manage..
ment and to entrust him with the settlement of questions
invol~ing common interests. There is still a powerful in..
fluenoe from bureaucratic and technocratic forces, who
dislilk e rthe self-management and democratic proceeddngs
of the delegations and delegates.
On tfihe otfuJer hood, rtih.e deleglalte aa;emJbili.es . ves
are not sULfficiently open to the other self-management
organs a nd organiza tions. With their mode of action they
should b ecome the central part and the backbone of the
entir e system, of socialist democracy. Cooperation of as..
semlblies with other self--management organs and organi-
zations will prevent the estalblishment of power centres
ou~ide the delegate system. I think that we are now
ready to make new steps forwaro in developing our seM-
ma nagement socialst democracy. I have referred to this
on other occasions, too.
Edtwr-tn-Chtet: Franc cengle
&JtJ)Onatble Edtto1": Novak Strugar
Bdttor: Djordje Borozan
Tranalation: BoAko and Margot Milosavljevtc
Deatgned bll Ivtca Stev16
Documents
Selected and edited by
Blagoje Boskovic
David Dasic
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STP
SOCIALIST THOUGHT AND PRACTICE
Be 1 grade, 1980
1980 b11 SOCIALIST THOUGHT AND PRACTICE, BelgratJe .