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Self-Management, the Algerian Case INFORMATION TO USERS This reproduction was made from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this document, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help clarify markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting through an image and duplicating adjacent pages to assure complete continuity. 2. 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These prints are available upon request from the Dissertations Customer Services Department. 5. Some pages in any document may have indistinct print. In all cases the best available copy has been filmed. Universit\I Micrdfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 ..... ······- .. .. ········ --·--------------- Order Number 1330113 Self-management, the Algerian case Zerougui, Abdelkader, M.A. The American University, 1986 U·M·I 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI48106 --------------------····---..... ____ _ SELF-MANAGEMENT, THE ALGERIAN CASE by Zerougui Abdelkader submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of I The Requir'emer..t.s for the Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology Signatures of 1 ~mmittee~ Chairman: £e P s · ~~ 1986 The American University Washington, o.c. 20016 !l'lIE .A!lERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ----------~------ ·--·· ........, .. ··-··········-·-··-·······--··-·· ···•· .•. ____ ........ @ COPYRIGHT BY ZEROUGUI ABDELKADER 1986 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SELF-MANAGEMENT: THE ALGERIAN CASE by Zerougui Abdelkader ABSTRACT This research examines the theory of self-management and its applications in Algeria. In the first chapter we approach the concept of self-management from a historical point of view and conclude first that self-management is the most appropriate approach to avoid the shortcomings of both liberalist and statist systems, and second that it depends on economic development and political stability and a strong state apparatus headed by a socialist vanguard-party. In the second chapter, we review the Algerian experiment and con­ clude that Algerian self-management is not a foreign concept, but rather is rooted in Algerian history. In the third chapter, a comparative analysis of Algerian and Yugoslav self-management finds the Yugoslav model superior due to the unity of its superstructure. The Yugoslav model represents an ideal type and a reliable reference for countries that follow the self-management path of development. The future of Algerian self-management depends on its spreading over the whole social system. For more success, Algerian self-management has to emancipate itself from its narrow applications and embrace the whole structure. ii ----- - ----------------------------·· . --···--·-····---. ·--··--·--------··-- PREFACE Self-management runs deep in the sociophilosophical literature. At the beginning of the 1870s, the transforma­ tion of socioeconomic conditions brought a major shift from a utopian self-governing society to a relative concretization of these thoughts. The crises that the Western and the Eastern worlds experienced, especially after the Second World War, brought new perspectives for the implementation of a more democratic society, where dualism between control and output was to be ended. A new reinterpretation of Marxism-Leninism showed that workers' direct control is clearly advocated by their doctrine. Factories to the workers was the most appropriate approach to.avoid both repression and pragmatism. Workers' control turned out to be a key issue for a self-governing society. Therefore, Marxism stands as the theoretical background and the defender of self-management. The bureaucratic state is a residue of archaic systems that has to be dissolved. Workers' committees are to be the units of overall transformation. Recently, self-management has become a major issue in the sociological debate at both levels, macro-sociological and work-occupations. The implications of the second industrial revolution at the sociopolitical level have pushed iii management to reintroduce the human factor as the most important element behind any maximization of output. During the 1970s, the capitalist world experienced great changes. Legislative reforms were introduced and unions went beyond their traditional way of bargaining to ask for further workers' control. The Eastern bloc has turned to the workers' committee and the policy of decentralization. OverSll, it seems that both systems couldn't transcend their internal conflicts to end the dualism of workers versus managers. Could self-management be introduced in any social forma­ tion as a path of development to avoid the shortcomings of both statist and liberal systems? This research is mainly based on a historical approach. Looking for the legitimacy of Algerian self-management, pre­ colonial and colonial Algerian 'gives us a clear idea of how the Algerian social formation has been rearticulated to the French market. Algerian socialism is not a foreign ideology, but rather a return to original roots (Taaoun, Twiza-- col lective work) in a more scientific and efficient way. The first chapter discusses the historical roots of the idea of self-government, from the early utopians to recent movements. Different experiences of self-management will be used as raw material to emphasize the legitimacy of self­ management and workers' participation. The second chapter examines the Algerian case, the rearticulation of the Algerian social formation to the French iv mode of production, and its implications for the class structure. Some experiences are used to illustrate the efficiency and the originality of self-management. In the third chapter a comparison is made between the Algerian model and the Yugoslav one in terms of their theo­ retical and historical foundations. v ··----·--- -----------···-···-·--···-·· ·······-··---···---- .. ----··--·-··----··---- TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT . ii PREFACE . iii Chapter I. THE LEGITIMACY OF SELF-MANAGEMENT . 1 General Review of the Theories and Practices of Self-Management • • • • • . • 1 Critique of Contemporary Theories of Self-Management • • • • • • • • 4 Lessons from Different Experiences 11 Conclusion • • • • • • • • • • 15 II. SELF-MANAGEMENT: THE ALGERIAN CASE • 19 Disarticulation and Rearticulation of the Algerian Social Formation • • • • • 19 Social Classes and the National Liberation Front • • • • • • • • 23 Self-Management in Independent.Algeria. • • • 27 The Experience of Self-Management 38 Problems of Self-Management in Algeria 40 III. COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ALGERIAN AND YUGOSLAV MODELS • • • • • • • • • • 45 Theoretical and Historical Foundations • • 45 Assessment of the Phases of Development • • • 52 Conclusion . 65 General Conclusion • • • • • • • • • • • • 67 BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • • • • 72 vi ---------------·---·---,,-·-----··-··--···~····---···--·-···"-···-·----·-··----·-··- CHAPTER I THE LEGITIMACY OF SELF-MANAGEMENT General Review of the Theories and Practices of---SeTf=Management~- The idea of self-determination and democracy was under debate as early as the 1870s. Social inequality and the misery of the masses were direct stimuli for theorists and philosophers of that period to question their social order. Their theories were a spontaneous reaction to the social disequilibrium. Robert Owen conceived a future society as a federation of cooperative communities, governed by the producers. Charles Fourier advocated phalansteries in which hired labor is abolished and the state will disappear. Phalansteries were to be federated under a coordinating governor (Horvat, 1975a). Louis Blanc asserted in his work: "To each according to his needs and from each according to his abilities" (quoted in Horvat, 1975b, p. 9). Later Proudhon pointed out the dissolution of the state and the decentralization of organi- zations by transferring power to local units. A new social order will be based on mutualism and federalism. These utopian ideas were thoroughly criticized by Karl Marx: "It was both absurd and treasonable to expect the emancipation of the working class from the bourgeois state, 1 2 given the historical conditions of that time" (quoted in Horvat, 1975b, p. 11). The working class in Europe was just in
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