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148 7. The Transformation of Values in the Cultural Sector Aleš Gabrič T he processes which changed the shape of cultural creativity in Slovenia began to appear even before the transition in the political system, which began in the early 1990s. In this chapter I focus on the new directions in cultural creativity that emerged during the time of the DEMOS government (1990–1992), when new values began filtering into cultural policies and legislation.1 Because of a cultural/political regulation which enabled the state to intervene in both the entire cultural sphere and the programs and policies of cultural institutions, the demands for a change in the values of cultural life were initially directed toward modifying the cultural system itself. The state was to be stripped of its ability to intervene either directly or indirectly in cultural creativity. A system would replace it which would guarantee the appropriate conditions for independent intellectual work. Unhindered intellectual work without fear that one will be persecuted for one’s personal opinions is one of liberalism’s fundamental values. For a freethinking human being, living in a society in which liberal values rule, the importance of such freedom is obvious. Intellectuals who were operating within the framework set up by the Communist regime had to win that right. As contradictory as it may seem, the struggle against the rights of the state agencies to decide on events in the cultural sphere had to take place in those very state agencies. The reason for this is that the state and its agencies would legalize and establish a new cultural/political system that would ensure the independence of intellectual work and consequently a more heterogeneous cultural realm of creativity. The Emergence of New Cultural and Political Principles The values that were highlighted in the programs of the new political parties had been emphasized by artists (the word in Slovene literally means “cultural workers”) from the mid-1980s onward. The programs criticized the educational system, the way in which the Slovenian language was slighted in official dealings , the persecution of people on the grounds of what was termed “verbal delict” (verbal offense), and demands for respect of human rights and liberties, 149 Transformation of Values which included equal access to the media. The so-called cultural opposition made itself heard via the media, which had come into conflict with the ruling Communists even before the elections. Ranking first among the media were the journal Nova Revija, the youth magazine Mladina, and the student magazines Tribuna and Katedra. The students also ran their own highly popular and often controversial and rebellious radio station, Radio Študent, something quite out of the ordinary at that time in Communist countries. One could, for that matter , list additional magazines and books which elicited a widespread response among the public in the 1980s and offered new perspectives on issues such as the shape of society and the recent past, shedding light on them and breaking the taboos of the times. Among the cultural organizations, one of the focal points of events through which efforts were being made to change the political and cultural system and the existing system of values was Društvo slovenskih pisateljev (the Slovenian Writers’ Association [SWA]). Throughout the 1980s, the chairpersons of this association had received constant criticism from the ruling Communists, who accused them of overstepping the bounds of the normal functioning of a professional association. The leading members of the association usually responded to this by explaining that the crisis situation, the lack of definition of Slovenia’s national priorities, and the meddling of politicians in the cultural sphere were forcing them to become politically active.2 In the late 1980s, Rudi Šeligo was chair of the Slovenian Writers’ Association , while its Committee for the Protection of Freedom of Thought and Literary Expression was chaired by Veno Taufer. In his annual report delivered at the association’s general assembly on 5 April 1988, approximately two years before the elections, Šeligo emphatically stated that “in contrast to any conclusions on the social and political ineffectuality of the SWA stands the sufficiently widespread opinion of the public which confirms that our association today has power such as it has not had for a long time or possibly ever had.” Only after presenting a lengthy explanation of the reasons for the association’s political engagement did Šeligo touch upon the social and professional issues affecting writers that such meetings...

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