Evening star., 1950-09-10

ade. But others are due to defects
an. Sufficient data is now available
planners. Above all, there is the
existence of an unplanned sector
of the economy, acting as cush-
ion. giving flexibility and a mar
gin to allow for the unexpected
or unpredictable.
In Yugoslavia, the planners by
rigid adherence to an over-opti-
mistic tempo, have hamperec
smooth and steady development o1
their country's material and hui
man resources.
They have discovered that de-
ployment Of labor is far more diff
cult and complicated than dis
tribution Of machinery, and that
the former. not the latter. must
set the tone for planning, if it is
not to mean empty factories.
They have recently complained
of labor shortage in engineering
metallurgy. and war industry. pre-
cisely in those industries to which
the government switched its in
vestment. hoping that labor would
follow automatically.
Copying the Russian model, the
Yugoslavs began by establishing
highly centralized economic min
istries in Belgrade which at
tempted to run the country as
one huge economic enterprise.
AS q result they were showed
under by mountains of paper; the
proportion Of administrative
workers to producers more than
doubled. Officials in Belgrade
lacked time and detachment to
take a broad view necessary for
overall control.
Yugoslavs who were worried by
this huge bureaucracy were often
chary of denouncing 1t, for fear
of being dubbed "reactionaries"
and suffering in one way or
another. Red tape and bureauc-
racy not only lowered produc-
tivity but created cynicism among
workers who saw money squan-
dered on highly paid officials who
exhorted them to work harder
for low wages.
Planners were becoming in
creasingly isolated from the
people. devoted only to their plan,
immune from the everyday dis
comforts suffered by the man in
the street.
The Titoists' break with the
Cominform finally led them to
realize that there must be some
thing wrong with Soviet social
structure. They re-examined their
doctrinaire attitude to central
ization. and, as a first step. de-
centralized responsibility for in
dustry to the six republics, leav-
ing Belgrade the task of co-ordi-
nation. and adjusting the global
amounts.
Limit to Austerity
Then in June. 1850, they passed
a law under which the employees
of each enterprise were to elect
a management committee. (The
manager will be responsible to
them as he might be In private
industry to a board of directors)
This was q further step in the
separation Of direction and
control.
This new law has already en-
couraged workers to expose the
excess Of administrators and fore
men; a factory in Maribor coined
the slogan. LESS paper. more
bench" which soon spread.
The Yugoslavs will have to
face the key problem of the tempo
VI CCOlIOI1l4O OCfC1OR4ACLAts dA10 Vic
proportion Of current income the
people are willing to see invested.
However enthusiastic sections
of the people may be for the plan,
and however much initiative and
self-sacrifice they may show, there
are limits to the austerity people
can accept. But under the Soviet
system the man. in the street has
no way of expressing his discon-
tent at the excessive strain and
inequality Of sacrifice.
The present liberalizing trend
In Yugoslavia has shown itself
so far in the realm of ideas. The
extent to which this trend will
enable public opinion to influence
the governments decisions about
the rate of interest and the share
out of national income will be
one measure of how far Yugo-
slavia is moving toward a more
democratic regime.
| Copyright, London Observer Foreign News
Service)