and such conditions an authentic self-management?5 In other words, has the model of self-management been theoretically and institution-ally built into the Yugoslav variant of socialism, is the former the true foundation of the latter?
So far the tendency has been to ignore lightly the existence of cer-tain elements which are theoretically incongruent with self-management. Without a deeper analysis of these elements, and without an analysis of the content (and not only the forms) of self-management, it has been found satisfactory to conclude simply that other forms of management co-exist with self-management in this country, so that the only problem is the intensification of the development of the forms of self-management. However, it appears necessary to examine the degree to which the elements »co-existing« with self-management jeopardize it in fact, and do not permit the existing forms to be given an appropriate content. In other words, is self-management a dominant feature of our present system (self-management with regard to its content must be connected with the basie objectives of socialism), or is the present system characterized by other forms of management which do not contribute to the development of self-management as authentic socialism.
In an attempt to answer this ąuestion we shall remain at the level of programs, i. e. at the level of the theoretically defined and opera-tionalized model. Therefore, this analysis should not be confused with the sociological investigations of various practical aspects, which would reąuire a far-reaching empirical analysis. (Empirical data will be referred to only when reliable findings, which can support the validity of a statement, are at our disposal).
Starting with the primise that a human community can materialize only if it has self-management as its foundation, so that there is an essential connection between the promotion of self-management as a new model of decisionmaking and participation in social affairs, and the human objectives of socialism, we shall ask the first question: Is self-management in this country defined in such a way as to effect a gradual abolition of the »alienated social power of the producer«, i. e. to make possible the creation of such forms of collective power of individuals which would be the fruit of free association, under the control of the society? Some other questions are relevant here: At whose disposal is the surplus of value in our system, and who decides about its distribution in the global sense? Who has the right or the privilege to define the »social interest« which should be in harmony
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