I need to read more about yugosplavia and their system and why is it so praised and discredite

i need to read more about yugosplavia and their system and why is it so praised and discredite

where should i begun?

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marxists.org/reference/archive/hoxha/works/1978/yugoslavia/index.htm
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Marxist-Leninist hate workers and want party elite to own MOP instead of workers so they discredit Yugoslavia with memes like "muh imf loans".

Paul Mattick has an essay called "Worker's self-management" that is partially a critique of the yugo system

Socialists must oppose market economy, this is not optional. Plenty more than M-L;s rightly view Yugoslavia as capitalism with red flags.

Market socialism, self-management and the case for workers' co-ops - Darrow Schecter

libcom.org/library/radical-theories-paths-beyond-marxism-social-democracy-chapter-5-pp-125-149-market-socia

How many times has centrally planned economy have to fail until you people understand that markets are essential to building a succesful socialist economy?

The end goals of communism doesnt have money or markets or even a state but this is utopian with current technology.

Market Socialism in Yugoslavia

The ideal of Socialism as self-government in the economy as well as in the polity long precedes the Yugoslav break with central planning. It will be recalled from the introduction that in the Paris Commune Marx had seen the possibility of smashing the State by democratising it, that is, by dismantling the central State apparatus and dispersing political power to a federation of de-centralised Communes. These organs of local democracy would then manage the affairs of 'even the smallest country hamlet'. For Marx this seemed to be the precondition for any genuine self-government of the producers. But we also saw how this highly participatory and de-centralised vision was impossible to reconcile with a centrally planned economy which would necessarily come under the control of a socialist officialdom. In fact, this is what happened in the former USSR and State socialist countries of Eastern Europe. Rather than withering away, the State continually expanded its role as it sought to control all of society's economic functions. Thus the Bolsheviks, presiding over the State and the economy, deprived the Soviets and other bodies of local power of any real authority. By 1927 the Five Year Plans could be implemented without 'interference' from shopfloor workers in the various regions of the country. It was soon apparent that such centralisation of economic power, along with the political monopoly of power held by the Communist Party, was not in any way compatible with the self-government of the producers. Groups like the Workers' Opposition demanded greater producer autonomy through the empowerment of trade unions and workers' Councils. These attempts proved futile. As Leninism was succeeded by Stalinism, any attempt to question the centralised model of political economy was rejected as counter-revolutionary. [2]

Though the Workers' Opposition had raised important objections to Bolshevik tyranny which also figured prominently in the writings of syndicalists, anarchists, Council communists and Guild socialists, it was not until 1948 in Yugoslavia that an alternative conception of Socialism was given a chance to function on a large scale. It was here that the market, traditionally associated with capitalism, was seen as an alternative to the State as a means of allocating resources. This constituted a step further than Guild socialist proposals for a negotiated price between the parties affected in an economic transaction. Yugoslav theoreticians claimed that the introduction of the market would not only lead to increased production, but would have the equally important effect of democratising the country by diffusing political power. Stalinism was castigated as a tyrannical and bureaucratic deviation from Marx, while the Yugoslavs defended their reforms as a return to Marxist humanism. Right until the disintegration of the country in 1991, the Yugoslav leadership claimed to be returning to the spirit of the young Marx and the Marx of the Paris Commune writings, that is, rejuvenating the doctrine rather than departing from it. [3]

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At the outset it should be noted that the advent of Market Socialism in Yugoslavia was to a large extent a historical accident. When World War II drew to a close the Yugoslav Communist Party (subsequently re-named the Yugoslav League of Communists) took control of the country, suppressed all opposition parties, established a monopoly on the media and generally eliminated freedom of expression. In this way they were simply following the Bolshevik model of the dictatorship of the proletariat. In fact, Yugoslavia was initially one of the Soviet Union's most loyal satellite countries. Led by Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavia supported Stalin on all major issues of foreign policy, economic collectivisation and the subordination of Civil Society to the State. But by 1948 Yugoslavia was denounced by the USSR and expelled from the international organisation of communist economies, the Cominform, as a country that had betrayed the principles of Socialism. How did this come about, and what were the results? [4]

The first Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 31 January 1946 called for State ownership of all major sectors of industrial production, with the corresponding demand that all major decisions on the setting up and closing of enterprises be taken by the government. Production targets and distribution were under tight control by the League. At this stage it was thought that the concentration of all resources and the confiscation of private wealth was necessary in order to put the war-ravaged country back on its feet and gain some measure of political stability for the future. Thus planned distribution and rigidly controlled prices were deemed indispensable. [5]

However, in keeping with the country's agricultural traditions, the Yugoslavs sought to resume small-scale agricultural production, for which they drew heavy censure from Stalin and the Cominform. It was made clear that such measures would only encourage 'petit bourgeois' and 'typically peasant' attitudes towards land and work which would retard Stalinist models of industrialisation and collectivisation. The Yugoslavs initially sought to fall in line with Cominform policy, but it soon became apparent that such policy was ill-suited to the needs and realities of the country. Tensions between Stalin and Tito going back to the fight against Fascism were exacerbated. But the Yugoslav leader remained steadfast in his belief that his country had to chart an independent course based on its own abilities and needs. The inevitable result was the ostracising of Yugoslavia and the imposition of economic sanctions which, before long, amounted to a total blockade forcing the country to look to other parts of the globe for trading partners. Throughout the period 1946-48 Tito adamantly opposed Soviet-style collectivisation and Stalin's notion of a single road to Socialism. Polemics were exchanged until 1950, when Tito announced that Yugoslavia would henceforth embark on a new path of development based on the slogan, 'the factories to the workers'. This was the start of a highly original and influential experiment in socialist self-management. [6]

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In November 1949, Djuro Slaj, the President of the Yugoslav trade union Confederation, and Boris Kidric, a government official responsible for economic policy, sent out a notice to 215 large enterprises, detailing plans for the establishment of Workers' Councils in those firms. These Councils were given the task of drafting enterprise-level production targets, including proposals for raising productivity and efficiency. Councils were to be elected by all employees working in an enterprise by means of a secret ballot. The Council had in turn to elect a director, with the stipulation that workers could vote to remove Council members before the expiry of their mandate if two-thirds decided he or she was not doing an adequate job. [7]

The self-governing enterprise became the basic unit of all economic activity. Other corporate bodies such as local Communes, banks, or self-employed craftsmen were granted similar status. The 1965 law on enterprise formation and activity clearly stated that:

The Basic Law governing enterprise functions contained 299 articles, along with legislation regulating employment relations, the election of Workers' Councils and management structures, and the distribution of enterprise assets. What was formerly the exclusive domain of the State was henceforth, in principle, a matter for shopfloor workers and the managements they elected and dismissed. These groups of workers would trade their products with other similarly organised firms via the market. The aim was to achieve both democracy in the workplace and economic efficiency. [8]

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In theory, all workers in an enterprise, whether they be manual workers, technicians or managers, were meant to enjoy the same rights. Each self-managed enterprise was instructed by the law to determine its own basic rules and regulations, provided that this underlying equality of all members was not infringed. In all enterprises with more than 70 workers an elected Workers' Council, comprised of somewhere between 15 to 100 people depending on the size of the firm, would hold 1-year terms. During the course of these terms the Council would legislate on all policy issues, such as how much of revenue to apportion between investment and consumption. Disciplinary matters were also dealt with. Yugoslav law specified that Council members could not run for a second consecutive term, but could run again subsequently. The Council elected a Management Board each year, entrusting it with authority on issues ranging from investment to housing and social services for workers. The Management Board, in consultation with the Workers' Council, would in turn elect an Executive Director for a 4-year renewable term. [9]

Where such upper management had previously been appointed by the relevant planning ministry, self-management called for new procedures. Thus Executive Directors were chosen as follows: in accordance with individual enterprise regulations, the post was publicly announced and advertised by the Council, which then appointed a committee to evaluate applications. Committees were made up of Council members and local Commune members in equal proportion, who would narrow the field of candidates down to six people. The list was sent to the Workers' Council for approval, which then selected its top choice or asked the committee to reconvene to select a new group of prospective Executive Directors. Once elected, the Executive Director was in charge of all current business, including the implementation of decisions made by the Workers' Council and its sub committees. Following traditions of radical democracy established in the Paris Commune, the Executive Director could be recalled on demand if a majority on the Council found his or her management incompetent. [10]

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Jan Vanek, a scholar of Yugoslav self-managed enterprises, reports that in large firms it was not uncommon for there to be self-management bodies at individual levels of production and administration. In such enterprises, mid-level directors were appointed by Workers' Councils without outside intervention. In a very large enterprise one might have had several dozen self- management bodies of various descriptions working in conjunction with sub-committees in charge of different aspects of production and distribution. Autonomy and co-operation were important goals in all such firms. Vanek thus concludes that in Yugoslavia the usual model of the single enterprise was replaced by the far more flexible ideal of an 'autonomous organisation of associated labour'. Writing in an optimistic vein that may strike us today as somewhat naive, in 1975 Vanek assessed the Yugoslav situation thus:

Vanek goes on to stress that contrary to many people's association of democracy with inefficiency and slowness in the decision-making process, the Yugoslav market socialist economy embodied the advantages of not having to seek the approval of directing planning boards located in distant capitals. Moreover, since all the workers in a firm bore the consequences of economic success or failure, there was little incentive to prolong disputes between management and shopfloor workers. Such conflicts are a chronic problem in both privately owned and nationalised industries. At the same time, enterprise capital was collectively controlled, which ensured that decisions would reflect the interests of at least the majority of employees working in a firm. This system of collectively owned capital, or social property, as it was called, had an enormous impact on subsequent self-management ventures outside of Yugoslavia. From its inception, a worker-controlled enterprise disposed of a certain amount of capital in the form of assets and means of production, which were either acquired independently or conferred by the State. This capital was intended to help the enterprise begin its commercial activities; it was available for use but was not owned by the enterprise. This meant that assets could not be liquidated to buy private retirement homes or other benefits that did not contribute to society's productive needs. It was considered vitally important that there be constitutional measures against property speculation and other instances of private usurpation of socially controlled wealth. Thus in the 1959 Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia we read that:

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read cockshott