Karabin
29th June 2012, 06:26
A while ago I bought this old book from a second hand store called Workers' Control: A reader of labor & social change. It was published in 1973 in a response to a series of strikes and riots held by the proletariat across the United States, and it has a large section showing models of worker participation & Self-Management around the world, including the former Yugoslavia. I don't really understand a lot of the things said in the other sections because I'm not very learned about this sort of thing, but I find the idea of Workers' self management very interesting and appealing, particularly the system used in former Yugoslavia. Here are a few excerpts from the book regarding the system of self management in Yugoslavia:
Some Comments on the Economy
The Yugoslav system of social ownership and workers' self-management can be viewed as one in which labor employs capital, instead of a system in which capital employs labor, as is the case under capitalism. Theoretically all citizens possess ownership rights and delegate authority to manage property to autonomous enterprises and institutions which in turn are managed by the workers directly or through their elected organs of self-management. Three key economic components are at work in the Yugoslav economy:
1. Workers' self-management of the publicly owned enterprises
2. Social planning, which consists of an intricate network of enterprise plans, commune plans and indicative planning by republican and federal agencies.
3. The market mechanism [The book didn't explain what this was, so if somebody could explain this to me I'd appreciate it greatly]
Integration of the plans and activities of individual enterprises is now increasingly being transferred to autonomous associations of producers, economic chambers, and other groups. The flow of command has been partly reversed and the individual enterprise is increasingly becoming the focal point and originator of important decisions relating to planning, production, and investment (the latter in cooperation with the banks). This transfer of government functions to autonomous associations of producers is one step toward the final goal of the "withering away of the state".
The Organizational Framework in Enterprises
Yugoslav enterprises operate within a framework of workers' self-management. The supreme authority within each enterprise is the workers' collective which consists of all members of the enterprise. In all but the smallest enterprises, the workers elect a workers' council which meets approximately once a month and is charged with making decisions on all major functions of the enterprise (prices on its products whenever these are not controlled, production and financial plans, governing of the enterprise, allocation of net income, budget, etc.). The workers' council elects a management board, in practice largely from its own ranks, which acts as executive agent. At least three quarters of the members of the management board must be production workers. The board meets more frequently than the workers' council and works in close cooperation with the director, who is an ex officio member.
The workers' council is elected for a period of two years, half of its members elected every year. Its composition is supposed to approximate the ratio between production workers and employees. Meetings of the workers' council are open and every member of the working collective is entitled to attend. Decisions are made by majority vote and the members of the council, individually or as a group, can be recalled by the electors. No one can be elected twice in succession to the workers' council, and more than twice in succession to the management board. The management board is elected for a period of one year and is answerable for its work to the workers' council, which may recall individual members or the whole board at any time. Service on management boards and workers' councils is honorary and members do not receive payment. The director is the actual administrative manager of the enterprise. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations and he represents the enterprise in any external negotiations. He can be removed by the workers' council, which also determines his term of office.
There is more in the chapter, going into more detail about the decentralization of the government in regards to the economy of Yugoslavia and some statistics regarding self-management within Yugoslavia, but the two parts above are what really intrigue me. From my basic understanding of things regarding the economy, the example of Workers' Self-Management appears to me to be the method of choice in regards to managing a true socialist society. Can I get some thoughts on this? I'm really interested in this idea of Self-Management. Was it practised in other Socialist states, such as the USSR, China, Cuba etc.?
Also, can we avoid any Tito bashing or anything like that. I am just using the Yugoslav system as an example, I'm not referencing the political system or anything of the sort.
Some Comments on the Economy
The Yugoslav system of social ownership and workers' self-management can be viewed as one in which labor employs capital, instead of a system in which capital employs labor, as is the case under capitalism. Theoretically all citizens possess ownership rights and delegate authority to manage property to autonomous enterprises and institutions which in turn are managed by the workers directly or through their elected organs of self-management. Three key economic components are at work in the Yugoslav economy:
1. Workers' self-management of the publicly owned enterprises
2. Social planning, which consists of an intricate network of enterprise plans, commune plans and indicative planning by republican and federal agencies.
3. The market mechanism [The book didn't explain what this was, so if somebody could explain this to me I'd appreciate it greatly]
Integration of the plans and activities of individual enterprises is now increasingly being transferred to autonomous associations of producers, economic chambers, and other groups. The flow of command has been partly reversed and the individual enterprise is increasingly becoming the focal point and originator of important decisions relating to planning, production, and investment (the latter in cooperation with the banks). This transfer of government functions to autonomous associations of producers is one step toward the final goal of the "withering away of the state".
The Organizational Framework in Enterprises
Yugoslav enterprises operate within a framework of workers' self-management. The supreme authority within each enterprise is the workers' collective which consists of all members of the enterprise. In all but the smallest enterprises, the workers elect a workers' council which meets approximately once a month and is charged with making decisions on all major functions of the enterprise (prices on its products whenever these are not controlled, production and financial plans, governing of the enterprise, allocation of net income, budget, etc.). The workers' council elects a management board, in practice largely from its own ranks, which acts as executive agent. At least three quarters of the members of the management board must be production workers. The board meets more frequently than the workers' council and works in close cooperation with the director, who is an ex officio member.
The workers' council is elected for a period of two years, half of its members elected every year. Its composition is supposed to approximate the ratio between production workers and employees. Meetings of the workers' council are open and every member of the working collective is entitled to attend. Decisions are made by majority vote and the members of the council, individually or as a group, can be recalled by the electors. No one can be elected twice in succession to the workers' council, and more than twice in succession to the management board. The management board is elected for a period of one year and is answerable for its work to the workers' council, which may recall individual members or the whole board at any time. Service on management boards and workers' councils is honorary and members do not receive payment. The director is the actual administrative manager of the enterprise. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations and he represents the enterprise in any external negotiations. He can be removed by the workers' council, which also determines his term of office.
There is more in the chapter, going into more detail about the decentralization of the government in regards to the economy of Yugoslavia and some statistics regarding self-management within Yugoslavia, but the two parts above are what really intrigue me. From my basic understanding of things regarding the economy, the example of Workers' Self-Management appears to me to be the method of choice in regards to managing a true socialist society. Can I get some thoughts on this? I'm really interested in this idea of Self-Management. Was it practised in other Socialist states, such as the USSR, China, Cuba etc.?
Also, can we avoid any Tito bashing or anything like that. I am just using the Yugoslav system as an example, I'm not referencing the political system or anything of the sort.