Yugoslavia in crisis - Harold Lydall

This is a study of the Yugoslavian economic system, its failure to raise standards of living and the implications of that failure for the future of socialism in both the East and West.;In the 1970s there were high hopes raised by the idea of "self-management" and claims were made that it was a superior system of economic management to that of any other East European country. However, since 1979 Yugoslavia has been in a state of stagnation and steady economic decline, with inflation at over 150 per cent and real wages down by 25 per cent. Within the country there is increasing social and political tension, industrial unrest, and, in a population of 23 million where there are five major languages spoken, inter-ethnic relations have deteriorated. Faith in the system is weakened and the ruling party is looking for new ways to yield better economic results without threatening its own hold on power.;Professor Lydall builds his analysis on the findings of his earlier book "Yugoslav Socialism - Theory and Practice", and suggests that if the Yugoslavian government and people are able to remove the mental and material strait-jacket of their economic ideology, they could rapidly create a thriving and prosperous society.