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groups and of individuals to make decisions concerning not only econ-omic but also politieal issues. For this reason the division of functions between workers’ councils (economic functions) and the party and other social organizations (politieal functions) continues to be maint-ained. Self-management conceived in such a partial way with respect to the issues with which the self-managing units are concerned makes possible the covert strengthening of the centers of politieal power and of bureaucracy. This means that the battle against bureaucracy cannot be won without the development of integral self-managing units which would represent complete cells of direct democracy, and have the right to discuss, and decide about, all issues of social significance, be they politieal, economic, or cultural. The people cannot have a truły significant influence within the present system of social relations in Yugoslav society as far as basie politicies, such as the following, are concerned: the defining of social objectives and of the means for their realization; the formulation of social priorities and social in-terest; the specification of the characteristics of the system (Constitu-tional changes).¹⁹

It may, therefore, be claimed that politieal power as an alienated force. and bureaucratism as a monopoly of politieal power and a con-centration of politieal might at the top, will not be overcome unless self-managing units take over these forms of power, and unless there is a complete network of self-managing institutions from the base to the top. I take that to be the meaning of the following text:²⁰

»Socialism cannot solve the problem of bureaucracy within the framework of the abstract, politieal State, sińce bureaucracy is its unavoidable product«.

This means that the solution to the problem of bureaucracy cannot be found in »political power« as a separate sphere of the social system, irrespective of whether politieal power is embodied in the organs of the State or in parliamentary forms. As along as »power« is consti-tutionally separated from basie units in which »productive life« is lived, politics will remain to be an alienated force. Therefore, bureaucracy as a constituent element of politieal power may be overcome only through the process of overcoming politics as a separate and pro-fessionalized sphere of the social decision-making, i. e. by means of the »socialization of politics«. This, in other words, means the neces-sity to create the cell-like forms of complex self-management, the communes. A network of self-managing organs which will integrate the social forces of »producers« must be built to serve as a basis of self-managemnt as a global system.

A particular kind of hipocrisy has bccn dcveloping in this country. A bureau-crat - and for mc that means anyonc who has hcld top positions in socicty ovcr the last 25 ycars, and who intends to continuc to occupy them as if they are his inalicnablc right - »dccisivcly« contributes to the liberation of the working class from bureaucracy, waging in this manner a »vcrbal battle* against bureaucratism which hc has actually becn wholcheaTtedly supporting and reinforcing for decadcs.

¹⁰ Lj. Tadić, Op. cit., p. 117.

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