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The People's Socialist Republic of Albania is something of an enigma. It is simultaneously one of the most well-known and least-understood of all socialist nations. The only thing that most people (even most socialists) know about socialist Albania is that it was led for most of its existence by Enver Hoxha, a man who hated revisionism and adored bunkers, and whose ideas formed the branch of Marxism-Leninism known as Hoxhaism. But there is a great deal more to this nation than most of us are aware, and it should be studied; it offers both an exemplary case of the achievements that socialism is capable of, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism and dogmatism.
Economic Development and Infrastructure
An excellent source on this (and other aspects of socialism in Albania) is a study entitled "Mortality Transition in Albania: 1950-1990". I will cite this study many times though-out this masterpost:
Before World War II, Albania was the poorest nation in Europe. The country had not even undergone a real industrial revolution, and it was an entirely feudal and agricultural nation. The only fragments of industry were those which had been left behind by the Italian fascist occupiers during the war. Speaking of the war, the economy of Albania was damaged even further by the conflict, leaving the poorest nation in Europe worse off than ever before.
When the communists came to power, they swiftly set about transforming the nation's economy, nationalizing all industries (such as they were), enacting land reform programs, and establishing a Soviet-style planned economy. According to the above study:
Based on the experience of the Soviet Union, the Albanian Communist Government introduced a centrally-planned economic system. By 1951, the government replaced all the existing market forms and mechanisms by central planning. From then on the centralization of the economy was intensified. The planning system was based on Five Year Plans, where all the economic decisions on production, pricing, wages, investments, external and internal trade were made at the beginning of the plan, and remained unchanged for the whole period. Changes between the plans were also minimal in terms of wages and prices.
This resulted in impressive economic growth, as well as the rapid development of industry:
During the first period [1945-1975], the Albanian economy was relatively successful. It grew substantially until the break with China in the seventies. The growth of the Net Material Product from one five-year plan to the next was, on average, nearly 44 percent, with industry recording the fastest growth rates during this period. The average growth of industry from 1951 to 1975 was 82.5 percent. The share of agriculture declined from 80 percent during the first five-year plan (1951-55) to 36% in the fifth plan (1971-75), while the corresponding figures for industry were 14 percent and 35 percent, respectively.
In addition, infrastructure was built all throughout the country:
It was not just that the industry that experienced rapid growth, infrastructure was also developed. The country’s highway system was greatly expanded, and by 1985 consisted of 6,900 kilometres of roads capable of carrying motor vehicle traffic, and with a small rail network of about 603 kilometres. Within industry, the mineral sector and the electricity generation were initially developed. During 1956-60, the production of chrome made great strides, giving Albania first place in the world in per capita production of chrome ore, and later in the eighties the third place in the world for total output. Because of the large number of rivers and their mountainous nature, Albania developed its hydro-electric potential HEP, estimated at 2500 MW, second to Norway within Europe. Thus, in the eighties Albania reached agreement with neighboring countries (Yugoslavia and Greece) to supply them with electricity.
In 1969 direct taxation was abolished, and during this period the quality of schooling and health care continued to improve. It was during this period that Albania achieved full electrification, becoming one of the first nations on Earth (possibly the first, according to some sources) to do so. Electricity was brought to every rural district in the country (the vast majority of the population was rural), and cities were given full power as well. An excellent assessment of socialist Albania's economic development was made by John Salibur O'Donnell, in his book A Coming of Age: Albania Under Enver Hoxha:
On the positive side, an objective analysis must conclude that Enver Hoxha's plan to mobilize all of Albania's resources under the regimentation of a central plan was effective and quite successful ... Albania was a tribal society, not necessarily primitive but certainly less developed than most. It had no industrial or working class tradition and no experience using modern production techniques. Thus, the results achieved, especially during the phases of initial planning and construction of the economic base were both impressive and positive.
Unfortunately, after 1975, the economy began to stagnate. Going back to the University of London study:
In contrast with the previous period, the eighties witnessed a marked slowdown in economic activity, which virtually stagnated during the second half of the decade, reflecting Albania’s self-imposed isolation since 1976 and the emergence of serious internal and external imbalances. The real NMP, which had grown by nearly 44% in the previous period 1970-1980, but in 1980-1989 rose only by an average of 1 percent per year, declining from an average of 1.6 percent during 1980-85 to no growth during 1985-90. Real GDP followed a similar pattern, growing by 1 percent during 1980-1990, declining from 2 percent during 1980-85 to a marginal negative growth during 1985-90.
This resulted from Albania's self-imposed isolation from other socialist nations, as well as a lack of economic investment, which resulted from excessive and unnecessary military spending (particularly the infamous and costly bunker project):
There are many reasons that sent the Albanian economy into a dead-end street in the eighties. Most significant are the orthodox objectives and methods of management of the communist leadership; the lack of investment in the economy, which brought about a lack in advanced technology; and, most of all, the self-isolation of the country, which brought the Albanian economy to a state of total collapse in 1990.
In short, Albania achieved remarkable economic growth for about thirty years, which eventually slowed to a halt as a result of bad policy and self-imposed isolation.
Educational Achievements
In terms of social policy, Albania made a number of extremely impressive achievements.
Education was a top priority of the communist government, due to the extremely poor educational conditions of the country post-WWII. According to the earlier cited study:
The end of the second World War found Albania in a very poor educational state. At that time 80% of the population was illiterate, and in the rural areas this figure reached 90-95%. Illiteracy was widespread in rural areas and in particular among women. Immediately upon seizure of power in 1944, the communist regime gave high priority to opening schools and organizing the whole educational system along communist lines. An intensive campaign against illiteracy started immediately.
This resulted in enormous improvements in the educational system:
In terms of enrollments, Albania had a broad-based education system, with almost 90% of the pupils completing the compulsory basic 8-year school and 74% of them continuing into secondary school. From these, more than 40% went to the university. According to official figures, at the end of 1972 there were 700,000 schoolchildren and university students, which meant that every third citizen was enrolled in some kind of educational institution. The number of kindergartens in urban areas increased by 112% from 1970 to 1990, while in rural areas it increased by 150%. The number of primary schools in urban areas, for the same period of time, rose 31%, and in rural areas 24%. The total number of secondary schools increased by 291%, and that of high schools by 60%. A similar trend is seen for the number of students that graduated. Thus the number of pupils that graduated from primary schools for the period 1970-1990 increased by 74.8%, for the secondary school, the number rose 914.2%, and for university 147%. Education tuition was free of charge. Students whose families had low incomes were entitled to scholarships, which gave them free accommodation, food, etc.
As a result, illiteracy was virtually wiped out across the country:
At the end of eighties, Albania had a rate of illiteracy of less than 5%, placing it among the developed countries.
This is a remarkable advancement. As the study says:
The achievement of universal education must be judged one of the communist regime’s main achievements.
Healthcare Achievements
Healthcare was another area in which the communists made enormous progress. After WWII, Albania's healthcare situation was rather desperate:
As explained earlier in this Chapter, when the communists took over in Albania in 1945, the state of the population's health and the Albanian health system were in a very bad state. Before the War, the health system consisted only of 10 state hospitals and an Institute of Hygiene founded in Tirana in 1938. The number of doctors was very low - only 102 Albanian doctors and a very small number of foreign doctors. Thus, the number of physicians (doctors and dentists) per 10,000 of the population was only 1.17, while the number of beds for 1,000 of population only 0.98.
Life expectancy and mortality were among the worst in the world:
According to the League of Nations in 1941, the crude death rate for Albania in 1938 was 17.7 per thousand. In a later study a figure on life expectancy at birth is given for 1938 as 38 years. Even these figures are thought not to be accurate, because death registration was not complete. There was no death certificate form, the posting of registers was always in arrears, and very little information on cause of death was recorded. The majority of villagers died without any medical intervention. In the early twenties over half of the country's 2,540 villages had never been visited by a doctor.
Because of this, the communists made healthcare a top priority:
In order to address this situation, the government starting in 1947, introduced a wide-ranging social insurance and medical scheme. Most medical treatments (thought not the medicines) were provided free. Legislation was introduced to protect the mother and child, and set up the pension scheme, as well as other regulations on sanitary conditions and control, and for the treatment of infectious diseases.
As a result of communist healthcare policy, life expectancy increased rapidly in Albania:
Most of the improvement in life expectancy at birth occurred in the first decade, when life expectancy at birth increased by 10.4 years for both sexes, more than one year for each year of the decade. In the next three decades mortality continued to improve, although not at the same pace as in the first decade.
The following table charts life expectancy in Albania from 1950-1990, as given by the aforementioned study (recall that life expectancy in 1938 was approx. 38 years):
| Years | Life Expectancy (Male and Female) |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 51.6 |
| 1954-55 | 55.0 |
| 1960 | 62.0 |
| 1964-65 | 64.1 |
| 1969 | 66.5 |
| 1975-1976 | 67.0 |
| 1979 | 68.0 |
| 1989 | 70.7 |
From these statistics, it is clear that the communists achieved an enormous increase in life expectancy, from 38 years in 1938, to 68 years in 1979, an increase of thirty years in just four decades. It continued to improve until 1989, albeit more slowly.
The communists also succeeded in eliminating various infectious diseases which had plagued the country, particularly malaria, which had been the biggest killer in pre-war Albania:
A number of endemic diseases were brought under control, including malaria, tuberculosis and syphilis... If one looks at the mortality transition from 1950 to 1990, it is clear that the pattern changes as life expectancy improves. Thus, the infectious and parasitic (tuberculosis included) diseases decline and almost disappear in the seventies and eighties.
The Albanian communists made a number of extremely impressive achievements in the field of healthcare. Unfortunately, this too began to suffer at the tail-end of the communist period, as a lack of investment and self-imposed isolation took their toll.
Social Security
The social security system was a major priority of the communist government. Based on the Soviet model, the communists developed a cradle-to-grave social welfare system throughout the nation:
Social Insurance was first introduced by the Albanian communist government in 1947. The initial social security scheme covered approximately 75,000 people. The social insurance program was administered by state organisations and covered medical care, compensation for disability, old-age pensions, family allowances, and rest and recreation. Several modifications were made latter to the basic program. The law of 1953 provided a program closely resembling that of the Soviet Union, i.e. a classic cradle-to-grave system of social security. For a number of years trade unions administered a large number of social insurance activities. In 1965 the state took over the administration of all phases except those for rest and recreation facilities.
Maternity leave and disability insurance were provided:
If people lost their capacity to work totally or partially, they were granted invalidity pensions. The amount of the pension varied between 40-85% of the wage depending on the scale of invalidity, cause of invalidity and the number of years that the person had been working. Pregnant women were given eighty-four days leave under normal circumstances and were paid at 95% of their wage if they had worked for more than five years and 75% if they had worked less than five. The pregnancy leave period was extended to six months in 1981. Workers could stay at home for limited periods to care for the sick and during this period received 60% of their pay.
Old-age pensions were also provided to all retired workers:
Old-age pensions were based on age and years of work. Payments were calculated at the rate of 70% of the worker’s average monthly wage. Two exceptions were the veterans of the Second World War and the Party leaders who received an additional 10%. The law also provided for widow’s and orphan’s pensions.
All workers were guaranteed time off from work, with pay:
All insured persons were entitled to a paid vacation. The duration of the vacation depended on the type of work and the length of active employment.
Childcare insurance was also an aspect of the social security system:
When children under seven years of age were ill, one of the parents was permitted up to ten days leave during a three month period. A one-time payment was made to the family for each child that was born. In case of death a fixed sum was paid to the family for funeral expenses.
Eventually, the system was expanded to include peasants in farming cooperatives:
From 1st July 1972 the system of pensions and social security was extended to cover peasants working in agriculture cooperatives. This aimed at the narrowing of the differences between urban and rural areas. Some agricultural cooperatives had already introduced some forms of pensions and social insurance providing help for their members in old age and when they were unable to work. The financing of this social security system in the rural areas came from the contributions of the cooperatives with some subsidization from the state.
The provision of a cradle-to-grave social welfare system is an enormous achievement, and one of the main advances made by the communist government.
Women's Rights in Albania
Pre-war Albania was one of the most reactionary societies on Earth with regards to women's rights:
For most women, traditional Albanian life was characterized by discrimination and inequality compared with men, reinforced by a wide range of cultural norms... In the immediate pre-war period there were just 21 female teachers in the country, a couple of women doctors and no female engineers, agronomists or chemists. Only 2.4 percent of secondary school students were girls.
The Code of Leke (the traditional pre-war Albanian code of law relating to women) was harshly discriminatory. Even murder of a pregnant woman was punished differently depending on the sex of the fetus she was carrying:
... the dead woman [is] to be opened up, in order to see whether the fetus is a boy or a girl. If it is a boy, the murderer must pay 3 purses [a set amount of local currency] for the woman's blood and 6 purses for the boy's blood; if it is a girl, aside from the three purses for the murdered woman, 3 purses must also be paid for the female child.
In order to rectify this situation, the communists placed an enormous emphasis on women's rights:
When the communists came to power they considered the emancipation of women as an important political measure, linking it with the destiny of socialism and communism... Equality between men and women was stressed continuously and was even included in the Constitution. The Introduction to the Constitution of the PSR of Albania says that “In the unceasing process of the revolution, the Albanian woman won equality in all fields, became a great social force and is advancing towards her complete emancipation." Article 41 of the constitution says: “The woman enjoys equal rights with a man in work, pay, holidays, social security, education, in all social-political activities as well as in the family.”
Women became an active part of the workforce, while previously they had been almost entirely excluded:
Equal rights included amongst others the equal right to have a job. Subsidized day-care nurseries and kindergartens, launderettes and canteens at both workplace, and in residential areas were provided, to make it easier for mothers to work. By 1980 women made up 46% of the economically active population, an increase over one quarter compared with 1960.
Women also made huge advanced in access to education, as well as in positions of government power:
Educational opportunities for women also improved considerably. Table 2.5 shows the increase in the percentage of students who were women graduating from university according to specialties. The table shows that the increase in the percentage during the period 1960-1990, for women engineers was 258.6%, while that for agronomists was 206%, for economists 192%. The same policy was adopted for the participation of women in governing of the country.
Edwin E. Jacques discusses this issue in his book The Albanians: An Ethnographic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present:
According to Jacques, during the Cultural and Ideological Revolution, women were encouraged to take up all jobs, including government posts, which resulted in 40.7% of the People's Councils and 30.4% of the People's Assembly being made up of women, including two women in the Central Committee by 1985. In 1978, 15.1 times as many females attended eight-year schools as had done so in 1938 and 175.7 times as many females attended secondary schools. By 1978, 101.9 times as many women attended higher schools as in 1957.
The People's Socialist Republic of Albania made a number of enormous achievements in terms of women's rights. Even the most reactionary of commentators have acknowledged this. For example, take the following article from the Telegraph, authored by a reactionary writer who grew up in communist Albania:
As she says in the article:
Inspired by the ongoing debate on women’s inequalities, I have recently reflected on my own childhood politics and have come to the surprising conclusion that the place to look for solutions to gender inequality is the Communist model.
She comments on the communist encouragement of women in the workforce:
The Communist promise that women should be equal players in the workforce was not an empty one. Women were positively encouraged by government campaigns to embark on all professions, including “manly” jobs, building on the fact they had fought in large numbers alongside the men as partisans during the Second World War. To achieve this they were given trainee-ships, professional qualifications and scholarships... Growing up, I never encountered any suggestion that women in these professions were in any way less capable than men by virtue of their gender and additional role as mothers. On the whole, they faced no barriers of gender discrimination. I remember my parents and their friends frequently praising excellent female doctors and teachers... This form of equal partnership was commonplace in the Albanian society I grew up and importantly women’s role in the family informed how women were viewed in the workplace and vice-versa. If men suggested that women should be relegated to the house they were mocked for their anachronistic ideas.
When even a reactionary writer whose parents sent her to clandestine Italian lessons (the language of the fascist occupiers) is praising the communist policies towards women's rights, that is a strong indication of their success.
Major Problems
Despite the great achievements of the communist government, there were nonetheless huge flaws which ultimately brought down the nation. These were:
- The rigid anti-revisionism of Hoxha, who refused to allow any deviation from the Stalinist model, even when certain policies no longer made sense for current conditions.
- The self-imposed isolation of the nation, as Hoxha burned bridges with other socialist nations that did not share his doctrinaire interpretation of Marxism.
- The paranoia which resulted from this isolation, including the infamous bunker campaign, carried out to stave off a feared invasion from the USSR or Yugoslavia. On average, each bunker cost as many resources as a two-bedroom apartment, and the total resources devoted to building them could have easily resolved the nation's housing shortage.
These problems should serve as a warning to all subsequent generations of socialists and communists, as even the great achievements of socialism in Albania were not enough to prevent the above flaws from bringing everything down.
Conclusion
The People's Socialist Republic of Albania is a complicated case for us to analyze. The following assessment of the revolution is given by the University of London study:
Overall, how can we characterize communist Albania? Clearly, in spite of considerable economic development relative to its previous level, it remained poor and mostly rural. However, the social agenda of development made much more progress. Education and social security became virtually universal, and health care was available to all. Moreover, traditionally severe discrimination against women was greatly reduced.
Some achievements of the communists are acknowledged even by reactionaries:
The reduction of long-standing traditions of discrimination against women, and the provision of universal education and primary health-care were achievements which even the regime’s enemies acknowledge.
The communists also greatly developed the nation's economy, developed its infrastructure, and liberated it from foreign domination. One of the best summations of the achievements of socialism in Albania is given by the Encyclopedia Britannica, in its article on Enver Hoxha:
Albania’s economy was revolutionized under Hoxha’s long rule. Farmland was confiscated from wealthy landowners and gathered into collective farms that eventually enabled Albania to become almost completely self-sufficient in food crops. Industry, which had previously been almost nonexistent, received huge amounts of investment, so that by the 1980's it had grown to contribute more than half of the gross national product. Electricity was brought to every rural district, epidemics of disease were stamped out, and illiteracy became a thing of the past. Encyclopedia Britannica | Enver Hoxha
Despite all of this, however, the flaws of isolationism and rigid-dogmatism prevented the nation from advancing post-1975, and ultimately brought about its fall. Let this serve as a warning: idealism and isolation are fatal to any revolution.
References
University of London | Mortality Transition in Albania: 1950-1990
Google Books | The Albanians: An Ethnographic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present
The Telegraph | Growing Up Under Communist Rule Made Me the Tough Feminist I Am Today