In mid-1973 the subject matter of Bulgarian films was characteristically contemporary, and there was little focus on historical events. Although a few historical films had been produced, they were in the minority. A few films had dealt with the subject of Bulgarian resistance to the Nazis, but they too were relatively scarce. More films were devoted to the so-called people's heroic struggles. Most films in Bulgaria, however, dealt with contemporary life in the country and current events. The overwhelming majority of these films treated the conflicts and issues of Bulgarian youth.
SECTION III. ECONOMIC
CHAPTER 12
CHARACTER AND STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY
Under comprehensive control of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary), the economy was severely strained in mid-1973 as the result of the dual task imposed upon it by the BKP leadership to increase productivity rapidly and substantially and to provide a growing volume of consumer goods and services under a newly announced program for raising the population's low standard of living. A first step in improving the living standard took the form of an upward adjustment in the lowest wage brackets and a broadening of social security provisions. Further improvements, however, were made conditional upon attainment of the productivity and production goals.
The development of the economy and of the consumer program faced severe limitations because of the inadequacy of domestic resources, including basic raw materials, fuels and power, skilled workers, and trained professional personnel. Economic development was heavily dependent on financial and technical aid from the Soviet Union, and dependence upon that country was to be increased in the 1971-75 period. Efforts to overcome persistent and growth-retarding difficulties in the economy led to frequent organizational and procedural changes in the economic mechanism, the structure of which in mid-1973 was still in flux as a result of decisions taken by the BKP in 1965 and in 1968.
The main trend in reshaping the organization and management of the economy was one of concentration and centralization—a trend that led to the creation of huge trusts in industry and distribution and of vast agroindustrial complexes in agriculture. In the process, divisions and lines of authority were blurred, and violations of government directives were frequent because of their complexity and the constraints they placed on the day-to-day operation of economic enterprises.
In the search for a more efficient organization and management pattern, heavy reliance was placed on the introduction of complex automation into all economic processes with the aid of a nationwide computer network—a system of automation that would extend from the highest levels of national economic planning down to the individual factory shop and cow barn. No ideas have been advanced, however, on how complex automation would solve the basic problem of the economy—the widely acknowledged and pervasive lack of incentives to work. The methods used to grapple with this problem were limited to a tinkering with the wage and bonus system, administrative sanctions, political indoctrination, and exhortations.