— Speech by comrade Ramiz Alia at the 10th Plenum of the Party Central Committee — Comrades During these months that have passed since the 9th Plenum, our country has been engaged in a broad and vigorous activity to implement its decisions. And this is understandable, because everyone has seen with their own eyes the importance of the changes that are being made in our society for the implementation of the economic reform. Before us lies a task of particular importance and delicacy, because we are acting in complex conditions both domestically and internationally. But we have faced this difficulty and will face it successfully, because we have the support of the people and our society is healthy and full of vitality. All the activity that has been carried out in this period has been characterized by persistent efforts to respond in a timely and mature way to the many complex problems that have arisen in the life of our country and our society. The democratic development of economic and social life is an objective necessity of socialism itself. This requires us to move forward with courage and prudence, to create new conditions for the creative initiative of the masses, for greater activation of the individual in production, in management, in culture, in science and in all fields of life. Our successes in all fields are closely linked to the tireless work of the Albanian people. It is our people who, with patriotism, discipline and self-sacrifice, have faced difficulties, endured sacrifices and always known how to move forward. In today's conditions, as many phenomena in the world are changing, it is necessary to further strengthen our socialism, to make it more democratic, more effective, more capable of meeting the demands of the time. The democratization of economic and social life does not mean weakening the people's power; on the contrary, it strengthens it, because it relies more on the conscious and active participation of the working masses. We must expand the powers of local bodies, enterprises, institutions and collectives, increasing their responsibility for work results. Socialist self-management requires more information, more debate, more control from below and greater accountability. Our Party has been and remains the leading force of society, but it must exercise this role not through bureaucratic methods, but through conviction, by example, and with political and moral authority. Within this framework, of first-rate importance is the expansion of socialist democracy, respect for legality, strengthening of order, protection of the rights of working people and the fight against every manifestation of arbitrariness and subjectivism. The economic reform we have undertaken aims to increase the efficiency of the economy, stimulate material interest, improve work organization and ensure a more rational use of resources. This reform is not a retreat from the principles of socialism, but a development of them in the concrete conditions of our country. At the center of every reform stands the individual. Without increasing the role of the individual, without freeing his creative energies, without trust in the masses, there can be neither true democracy nor lasting progress. Democratization also requires increasing the role of social organizations, youth, women, the intelligentsia and public opinion as a whole. More thought, more responsibility, more participation — that is our path. It also requires improving working methods, fighting formalism, opposing the spirit of command, and opposing every overvaluation of the apparatus at the expense of the concrete individual. The strength of our socialism lies in the unity of the people, in the justice of our line, in the Party's historical experience and in the ability to renew itself while preserving its revolutionary essence. (Complete on page 2) (Photo: ATSH)