Amidst an age of global ideological and geo-political ferment and turmoil - to put it mildly - in *chancing the other day upon a little booklet at our local (Dunedin, New Zealand) public library, I was reminded of the former Eastern Bloc nation's once proud(er) history. Overseen **from the ending of World War 11 through the late nineteen-eighties - around about a half-century or thereabouts - by the idiosyncratic communist strongman, President Tito, Yugoslavia as it ***was once known seemed to enjoy 'the best of both worlds' (cliche-ridden term notwithstanding).
Yes, in a day and age where true heroes of the Left are few on the ground and few and far between...
here's in praise of an old soldier of the Left, who, though far from perfect himself, and no doubt somewhat autocratic in style at times...
#ran a model socialist state that actually worked for the vast bulk of the Yugoslav people the great majority of the time
#along an excellent decentralized (cf (1970s-80s) NZ Values Party) model
#meanwhile maintained a USSR-independent foreign policy for decades
#...and last but hardly least - in view of the 30 years since he departed the political stage...
held Yugoslavia and its numerous infighting ethnic minorities/communities together - for well-nigh a half century!
In an era where 'identity politics' has taken the so-called 'Left' by the short and curlies, and has led it down a rabbit-trail (or warren) of deceptive and misleading shortcuts and dead-end trails, Tito earned his stripes fighting throughout his long lifetime for a cause which united his countrymen and women in a proudly independent nation upon the world stage, while serving as an exemplar of the true socialist ideal in the domestic arena. Yes, Tito and moreover Yugoslavia under Tito both had their cake and heartily consumed it as well!
*Part of their ongoing, seemingly never-ending 'library book sale', I regretfully didn't even spare a measly $1 to purchase said booklet.
**In fact, according to my trusty little ********Volume Three O-Z of The Concord DESK ENCYCLOPEDIA, 'He served as prime minister (1945-53) before becoming president' (1953-1980); though of course said encyclopedia only went up to that time, and so didn't include his almost decade remaining in power.
***Before dividing/splitting off - just like the 15 now sovereign republics of the former Soviet Union/****USSR - into *****Serbia - Croatia - Slovenia - Bosnia-Herzegovina - ******Macedonia and Montenegro.
****Indeed USSR stood for 'United Soviet Socialist Republics' (italics mine).
*****Which these days includes the two autonomous regions of *******Vojvodina and Kosovo.
******Itself now experiencing a major crisis over whether to be known - far as I can gather, anyhow (and trust me, it's rather difficult) - as Macedonia: Republic of Skopje or Macedonia: Republic of Greece.
*******Who, no, who - here in the media-saturated West, anyhow - has ever heard of Vojvodina?!?!
********Which volume also includes the following interesting tidbits: [TITO] became a communist while a WW1 prisoner of war in Russia and later spent several years in Yugoslav jails. General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1937, Tito organized partisan resistance to the Nazis in WW11, eclipsing the CHETNIKS, and after the war established a socialist republic...
Tito broke with STALIN in 1948. He suppressed home opposition, while working for workers' self-management and reconciliation of national minorities. Later years saw a substantial liberalization of his policies. On the international scene, Tito became an organizer and leading spokesman for "third world." or neutralist countries.
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