After the experience with people's committees, small municipalities, and residential communities, socialist Yugoslavia began introducing local communities as self-governing units and communities of citizens within the new, larger municipalities. They were a way of strengthening social self-management and socialist direct democracy and, according to Marxist theory, envisioned as part of the withering away of the state, and therefore part of the process of de-bureaucratisation and humanisation of social relations. The foundations of the new socio-political organisation were set down by the 1963 Constitution, but it was only the 1974 Constitution that established local communities as one of the core parts of the socio-political system and a compulsory form of citizens' self-government organisation. Envisioned as something akin to extended families, they were greatly dependent on initiatives from below, on the energy, enthusiasm, and free time of interested citizens. Therefore, this paper attempts to answer the following questions: how was the concept of local communities envisioned; did citizens' interest reach the expected level, and who were the activists among them; what prompted their enthusiasm, and how did they understand their activities? Based on our analysis, we establish the characteristic types of activists determined by generational, class, and interest relations. In defining the theoretical and practical aspects of social self-government in local communities, the paper refers to the Programme of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, constitutional and legal provisions, and the theoretical tenets of the actors of that period. Our approach also considers the then and current papers from the field of administrative sciences. The everyday and practical activities in local communities are analysed based on the writings published in Mjesna zajednica (Local Community), the specialised monthly of the Conference for the Development of Local Communities, which acted as part of the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Yugoslavia, as well as archival data from the fond of the Republican Conference of the Socialist Alliance of the Working People of Croatia.
Uvođenje mjesnih zajednica kao samoupravnih jedinica unutar općine bilo je oblik jačanja društvenoga samoupravljanja i socijalističke izravne demokracije u Jugoslaviji te, prema marksističkoj teoriji, dio procesa odumiranja države. Začetke donosi Ustav iz 1963., no tek Ustavom iz 1974. mjesne su zajednice postale obavezan oblik samoupravnoga organiziranja građana. Zamišljene kao svojevrsne proširene obitelji, umnogome su ovisile o inicijativi odozdo i djelovanju aktivista. Rad donosi teorijske pretpostavke i praktične aspekte aktivističkoga djelovanja u mjesnim zajednicama u raznim dijelovima Jugoslavije, a na temelju analize uspostavljaju se karakteristični tipovi aktivista koji su određeni generacijskim, klasnim i interesnim odnosima. Podaci se ponajviše crpe iz onodobne literature, specijaliziranoga lista Mjesna zajednica i arhivskoga gradiva.
In the 1970s, a new form of consumer protection system in socialist Yugoslavia was established, firmly grounded in the Constitution and the Associated Labour Act. Relying on the principles of self management and withering away of the state, the principal role was given to consumer councils in local communities and municipalities, which negotiated with organizations of associated labour. Protection measures and functioning of the councils were coordinated by the bodies of the Socialist Alliance of the Working People. This paper is based on their documentation, especially from the 1980s, when economic crisis and shortages brought new issues in the focus of consumer councils.
Iako su savjeti potrosaca u Jugoslaviji osnivani tijekom pedesetih, neposredno po uvođenju samoupravljanja, njihova uloga postupno je slabjela i oni su do pocetka sezdesetih uglavnom prestali s radom. Oživljavanje slijedi krajem toga desetljeca u mjesnim zajednicama, no posebno je izraženo nakon donosenja ustava 1974. kojim je potrosacima izricito zajamceno pravo na zastitu. Uloga radnoga covjeka i građanina kao proizvođaca i potrosaca dodatno je regulirana Zakonom o udruženom radu 1976. te nizom drugih propisa. Ove su se aktivnosti poklopile s godinama najvece kupovne moci i uspona životnoga standarda na kraju desetljeca. Na republickoj razini sustav zastite koordiniralo je Vijece potrosaca unutar Republicke konferencije SSRNH, koje se pak oslanjalo na istovrsna vijeca u opcinama te na savjete potrosaca u mjesnim zajednicama. Težiste rada bilo je upravo na toj najnižoj razini koja je putem drustvenih dogovora i samoupravnih sporazuma s trgovackim i ugostiteljskim osnovnim organizacijama udruženoga rada na svojem podrucju trebala usklađivati interese potrosaca i proizvođaca. Obicno je bila rijec o gustoci maloprodajne mreže i politici cijena, potrebi za duljim radnim vremenom, kvaliteti ponude, korektnijem i ljubaznijem osoblju. Arhiva republickoga Vijeca potrosaca ovdje je kljucan povijesni izvor: dokumenti Vijeca, korespondencija s nižim razinama te zapisnici sa sjednica svjedoce o uspjesima i neuspjesima u uspostavi sustava zastite te na aktiviranju građana i njihovom osvjescivanju o potrosackim pravima.
Although consumer councils in Yugoslavia were established during the fifties, immediately after self-management was introduced, their influence gradually faded and, by early sixties, they largely terminated their operations. Their revival ensued in late sixties in local community offices, but it gained momentum after the adoption of the 1974 constitution which guaranteed consumers the right to protection. The role of the working man and citizen as a producer and a consumer was additionally regulated by the 1976 Associated Labour Act, and a number of other regulations. These activities coincided with the end of the decade when the purchasing power and the standard of living increased. At the republican level, the protection system was coordinated by the Consumer Council within the Republican Conference of the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Croatia, which in turn relied on counterpart councils in municipalities and consumer councils in local community offices. Most of the work was in fact done at that lowest level. Social compacts and self-management agreements with companies and hospitality associated labour organizations in their respective areas of operation were made in an effort to align the interests of consumers and producers. These mostly concerned the density of the retail network and price policies, the need for longer working hours, the quality of merchandise and services, and better staff decorum. The archives of the republican Consumer Council is the key historical source in this regard: Council’s documents, downward communication and minutes from meetings are evidence of the accomplishments and failures in establishing the protection system, activating citizens and raising their awareness of consumer rights.
Svi ucenici prvoga razreda osnovne skole u socijalistickoj su Jugoslaviji primani u Savez koji je razvijao privrženost domovini, Titu, Narodnooslobodilackoj borbi i revoluciji, ispunjavao slobodno vrijeme sadržajima koji su poticali djecju igru i stvaralastvo te sirio ideju humanosti i opce ljudske vrijednosti. Oblikovanje idealnoga lika pionira bilo je prvi korak u stvaranju novoga socijalistickog covjeka kao svestrane stvaralacke licnosti. Utemeljena na raznovrsnim povijesnim izvorima i literaturi, ova je knjiga prva znanstvena monografija o Savezu Jugoslavije, njegovim ideoloskim polazistima i djelovanju te njegovu mjestu u povijesti djetinjstva.
