OTHER SOCIAL GROUPS
Bulgarians are not by nature joiners. Formal organizations were of little significance in national life before the 1940s. Although a wide variety of groups existed, mostly in the towns and cities, membership was generally small and was based on strictly utilitarian considerations. Individuals joined to derive the benefits provided by the organization, such as easy credit, professional standing, use of libraries and other cultural facilities, or use of sports facilities. Few members were actively involved in the operation or the activities of the organizations to which they belonged.
Banding together for a common purpose, however, was far from alien to Bulgarian culture; but social organizations and informal groupings that emerged from such banding together usually were based on kinship or on close personal ties. The most important formal traditional organization was the zadruga (see The Family, this ch.). In a less formal vein, wool-cording and spinning bees were important features of rural social life before collectivization. In fact, many agricultural activities, such as hoeing and harvesting, were undertaken by groups of friends and relatives who joined together to take turns working on each other's land. This joining together for the accomplishment of necessary tasks served an important social, as well as economic, function. While working together in such groups, individuals exchanged ideas, passed on information and, thereby, either reinforced each other's traditional values and mores or helped develop new ones.
The cooperative farm of contemporary Bulgaria tries to derive the same economic advantages from cooperation as did the traditional work groups. The traditional groups, however, were based on a voluntary joining together of friends and relatives, whereas the grouping on the cooperative farm is forced and impersonal. The spirit of reciprocity, which was so important in the former work groups, has also been lost on the cooperative farm, where the peasant works land that, in his eyes, does not belong to him but to an impersonal entity.
In keeping with communist practice, the government and the Bulgarian Communist Party have introduced a network of mass organizations designed to serve specific interest groups. Most prominent among them are the trade unions, the youth organizations, the women's organizations, and other member organizations of the Fatherland Front (see ch. 9). Some, such as sports clubs, discussion groups, and cultural clubs of various kinds, are organized on community or enterprise bases. Intended to cater to specific interests of individuals, these groups attempt to attract a large percentage of the population into formal organizations that can be used to promote desired norms and values or undertake specific activities. Major emphasis is placed on collectivism, that is, working together as a group rather than as individuals. Structurally, the organizations are usually divided into small groups that are intended to act as focal social units. These units engage the attention and loyalty of an individual and then act on his behalf in relation to other social units or larger institutions, much as the family did in traditional Bulgarian society. The political purpose of the mass organizations, however, makes them unattractive to most Bulgarians who have never had much interest in organizational activities. As a result, membership in most has been far below desired levels. As was the case with earlier organizations, Bulgarians join them in order to derive the benefits that they afford. Membership in a youth organization or in a trade union, for instance, is often required to gain admission to a school or to obtain a job.