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9/30/1962 - Nationalism and Economics by Anatole Shub

NOT FOR PUBLICATION INSTITUTE OF CURRENT Y ORLD AFFAIRS Nationalism Economics Hotel Majestic Belgrade September Richard H Nolte Institute Current World Affairs Madison venue New York N Y Dear Mr Nolte At Fourth Plenum Central Committee League Communists July President Tito constrained declare It there centralism Belgrade everything being built there Nor Slovenes better someone expense It Slovenia advanced other republics cannot demand Slovenes should remain level while other republics catch The 1ovenia position others Few questions tangled sensitive between national problem economy question Yugoslavia wealth shared among constituent republics their sharply varying levels development product ivity culture health In economic sphere involves state policy wages taxes banking mechanisms especially investment funds In political sphere involves respective rights economic enterprises municipalities republics various agencies Federation The issue Some random statistics The Slovenes literate while Bosnia Hercegovina including women illiterate The Croats Slovenes children about Western peoples roughly births O00 population Albanians Kosmet twice On other infant mortality Kosmet times Slovenia The Croats Slovenes third population Federation provide nearly highly skilled workers entering ndustry struction public utilities Housing space person square meters Slovenia Croatia seven Bosnia lacedonia Two thirds Slovenes working national average dinars month Montenegrins nearly three fourths Mcedonians figured directly Fourth Plenum figuring indirectly current discussions draft Constitution shall helps explain number other discussions seemingly unrelated matters Although regionalism barrel politics every society issues deeper because Yugo slavia multinational state Communist On there historical legacy predom inantly mountainous readless terrain uneven distribution resources different impacts Hapsburg Otto occupations bitterly rsented S hgemony economic political interwar years still tragedy fratricidal The Communist regime acted suppress national hatreds seventeen years dspit massive efforts unable greatly reduce btween advanced backward sections country Bosnia negro acdonia before dinar invested Zagreb Ljubljana aribor brings greater faster rsults Tt proved arshal Tito Fourth Plenum labor productivity developed hardly exceeds productivity achieved developed areas The great bazaar Sarajevo appealing tourists represents different economic smart specialty stores Zagreb On other Communist society where private tiative barely exists realm personal services nomic dcisions great small politicie extent nkable West This places power responsi bility advance stagnation region Party Leninist orthodoxy indeed maintains socialism overcome national differences antagonisms principal League Communists Yugoslavia construct material basis brotherhood unity Yugoslav peoples It rightly claim credit successes achieved however P responsible members theblmeforanysriousabuses deformtions wastes instances chauvinism economic field The class capitalist owners feudal remnants conomically ceased exist according Vic President Edvard Kardelj Thus quite understandably there great sensitivity suggestion national considerations intruded heroic pelic there rolling debates economics followed national significant wasted political enterprises For suggest broader implication namely monolithic scientific party directing economy Of state building socialism subject regional national pushes pulls turns Western regime without safety valves provided party politics pluralistic conomy irresponsible press That provocative implication indeed xplains about nationalist influences economy mostly bottom President Tito himself street gossip The press great middle echelon efficials appear nowledge cumspect indirection Although gessip tells little abeut tually particularly higher lvels streets cenvey climat feeling which higher eperat which helped create maintainS Let begin rumers resentments Serb street SARAJEVO BAZAAR ANOTHER ERA First peoples invelved national pulling hauling money Belgrade Zagreb Serbs Creats surely butalsoethers ANYerkrhadadvisedmlasspring ebsrve prominenc Yugeslav entngrins bcaus their leadership qualities Slevns because businessmen A I heard essentially analysis Serb except different inimitably local flaver The ontenegrins You hundred years never civilized All They pelic weuld under King Alexander Franz Josf Ged knews Yeu Partisans Chtniks during killing ether The Chetniks ontenegrins Partisans ontenegrins All Serbs wanted alene And Sl ovenes Who really government apart pelic The Slovnes They decid verything anything monyo Yeu Slevn minister minister laberr makes speeches deputy Sleven Don wrong I saying Slovenes Communists They They Communists socialists nationalists simply Egetists Wild exaggeratien ceurse feeling Some dissatisfactions kinds outlet nationalist suspicions smallest greups suspect The netion Belgrade Serbs werrying about Sleven deminatien rather switch prewar pattern traditional widespread legend special lighting effects civic improvements undertaken Belgrad neutralist conference financed Zagreb hsing funds This sense Yugoslavia limited funds Zagreb housing Yet pervasiveness I first heard Blgrade virtually arrival itself palpable psychological To neither tales their bearers fluence Connnurst leaders decide where funds should invested taxed saved distributed transferred But Commu nists human products Yugeslav milieu subject influences Tito Kardelj Rukovich central authorities gnerally epected Yugoslav should press steel plant Iacedoni party leaders And committees reviewing project likely sympathetic their acedonian members This neces sarily cynicism empire building likely human response people given individual knows intimately cases socially responsible The difficulty there enough money cover acute needs struggles orities Since respecting Communist could justify project baldly national grounds scientific rationalizations sought There story whose accuracy cannot completely vouch about contest location aluminum plant Bauxite power available Hercegovina Nontnegro Economists proved fifty period plant Hrc govina would roughly economical Th ontenegrins however showed plant their rpublic would economical hundred The ontengrins A critic decision neither region consider hundred plant simply ridiculous wryly decision maker himself ontenegrin What interesting struggle itself Americans political interplay rgions localities thnic groups ground Rgional thnic considerations brought forth openly behind objective arxist fermula tions This beyond rlativly straightforward matters plant location broader affairs The result debate policy ideological scure indubitably nationalistic forest Take example recent discussion whether grssiv taxes gnuinely socialist Learned quotations found support A knowldgabl assures however citations Lnin windew drssing The debat btwen Slovens whohavethemost tobtaxedandthereforfavorflat rates poorer rgions least which unanimously favor progressive In similar manner current enthusiasm party circles communes municipalities districts foundation Yugoslav socialism appear unive conceals familiar conflict Th Slovens Croats powers rseurcs communes drawn cnter Blgrad tralists other communes reding power Republics alignment prevails discussions conomic ntrpriss their powers rtain distribute invest their arnings efficient regions north tnding favor greater leeway centralists favoring greater control The Constitution I officially nhancs pewrs Rpublics enterprises communes rading however Rpublics concerned compromis document which future interpreted either struggl between centralism fdralism means The federalists recently result Yugoslavia nomic troubles important ounds When years centralists quick blame decen tralization They claimed specifically enterprises communes communal banks Republics frittered nation invest funds planless helter skelter manner In ensuing cussion however demonstrated primary responsibility Blgrad Th Fdration itself disposed fully total available inestment funds since enterprises obliged match Federal credits Belgrade controlled total investments As result debate arshal Tito forthrightly Fourth Plenum The Republics should cated larger funds communal banks While larger sources should disposal enterprises Pre cisely center control course remains The language resolution adopted Plenum considerably vaguer larshal Tito blunt speech indicating resistance definite commitments Hovever direction seems clear cases cited Tito others cient enterprises having production because prompt credit center A second victory federalism important It concerns dvlopment undrd0evlopd areas which issue national conflict ugoslavia before The monarchy justified taxation which natur heaviest better Croats Slovenes grounds necessary development backward areas The Croats course replied money seemed hands Belgrade ruling class besides backward areas should learn thamselves Under Communist regime great invested devel oping natural resources underdeveloped regions tempting launch industrialization there ntrpriss particularly hydro electric stations successful Others however wasteful compared similar enterprises Slovenia Croatia Belgrade region The strain state within parwy considerable For instance illustration Tito invested AS approximately billion dinars million andstl works iniontngro Everyyarw grant billion dinars million subsidies This factory dvouring itself munity But invested billion dinars earlier Nontngro would making contribution commu Having stopped scolding Scolding Th ushot chang policy rgard areas It grant funds something public works cultural needs build factories price We build political factories longer The Fourth Plenum recommended Federal funds allocated underdeveloped areas should permanent proportion distribution national income draft Constitution provides special Federal purpose Vic President Kardlj chairman Constitutional commission explained envisioned creation continuous system financing development backvard regions This itself represents important divorce ffect productiv economy which profitable possibl essentially relief latter strictly dpndnt progress former Furthermore distinction backward calities within othrwis prosperous Rpublics g_nrally underdeveloped Rpublics In Kardlj words Th draft consti tution anticipates Rpublics obligated additional funds communes which achieve through their funds rquird performing their functions indispensable public services The Federation wouldb rquired scure additional funds those Rpublics which these In other words Croatia provide Lika other dprssd trritory Srbia Slovnia their backward rgions Fdration itself primary rsponsibility Bosnia Nacedonia Nontngro If Rpublics communes autrpriss obtain substantially larger nation funds changes toward allaying nationalist rsntmnt Croats Slovns being taxed benefit Nontngrins Bosnian Noslems In although there still unanswered questions meaning Tito stress Yugoslav gration conomy dvlopmnt Yugoslav internal under conomic ncssities appears pointing toward realization historic fdralist Croats Slovnes greatst possibl autonomy advanced peoples dvelop quickly xtnsively possibl lading Yugoslavia rather waknsses And therein veritabl complex historical ironies A century R W Seton Watson classic South Slav question Hapsburg Empire demonstrated interests Slavs Hapsburg general Europe Yugoslav peoples permitted peacefully unite their state What often forgotten about unusually prophetic Professor Seton W atson insisted dvelop properly advanced northern Austrian Slavs Zagreb rather Belgrade He wrote Serbia ontenegro petty kingdoms Croatians still attempting equal status Magyars Hapsburg system Slovenes barely conscious their nationality university their language Nevertheless indubitably higher cultural nomic level northern peoples decisive factor Yugoslav equation Today political stupidities chicammies interwar period tragedy numerous ideolo gical irrelevancies early Communist inexorable advance toward leadership economy least Croats Slovenes And extent political field Although Belgrade remains capital Tito Croat party chief thinker Kardelj Slovene reliably reported first offered Federal Prime inister under Constitutional arrangements Croatian leader Ivan Bakari How ironic considering sordid futile Croatian ratism origins Partisan movement western Serbia Bosnia Montenegro A Freudian would perhaps these developments return repressed triumph latent manifest content Someone shared Tolstoy vision history would surely again unconscious meaning historical events which participate An orthodox opposed Leninist Marxist might economic realities again overcoming subjective fancies industrialized essentially bourgeois north bound triumph feudal agricultural south matter ruling party As myself I content observe point letter establishment party csmnot abolish politics sense inevitable flicts interests needs Politics persists other forms bearing surprising resemblance ceding Age Enlightenment The conflicts simply difficult crystallize adjust follow Cordially Anato1 Shub Sna Future Album_ VILLAGE IN NORTHAST BOSNIA MOSTAR Hercegovina Received New York October