According to Djilas, the new class is characterized by its control over the state and the economy, as well as its privileged position in society. Members of the new class enjoy better living standards, access to exclusive privileges, and a higher social status than the general population. They are also able to pass on their privileges to their children, creating a hereditary elite.
While this class does not technically own factories or land in the capitalist sense, they hold the power of management, distribution, and consumption of national goods. "Ownership is nothing other than the right of profit and control," Djilas wrote, concluding that this bureaucratic control constitutes a new form of ownership and exploitation.
In the history of political literature, few books have shaken the foundations of totalitarian regimes as violently as The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System by Milovan Đilas. First published in the West in 1957, this seminal work provided an unprecedented, first-hand anatomical dissection of communist bureaucracy.
His criticisms led to his stripped rank, expulsion from the party, and eventual imprisonment. It was during this period of political fallout that The New Class was smuggled out of Yugoslavia and published in the West in 1957. The Core Thesis of The New Class milovan djilas nova klasa pdf 86
Djilas identifies the ruling party elite as a distinct social class.
Milovan Djilas paid a heavy price for his courage, spending years in prison for his ideas. However, The New Class remains a vital text for understanding the dynamics of power, the failure of utopian experiments, and the danger of authoritarian, monolithic rule. His analysis of a self-serving elite disguised behind ideological rhetoric remains relevant to modern studies of authoritarian regimes.
: A readable digital copy is available here, though it may require a subscription for full offline download. The History Muse According to Djilas, the new class is characterized
Ideology in a mature communist state is no longer a tool for liberation. It becomes a dogmatic religion used to justify the privileges of the ruling elite. Anyone who questions the economic inefficiency or the social inequality is branded an enemy of the revolution. Why the Book Echoes into the Modern Era
"The New Class" was a significant critique of Soviet-style communism and its bureaucratic degeneration. The book:
A close wartime ally and personal friend of Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito. While this class does not technically own factories
While a Soviet or Yugoslav official did not legally "own" a factory or an estate in the capitalist sense, they enjoyed exclusive use of it. They controlled the distribution of wealth, drove luxury cars, lived in state villas, and accessed restricted goods. This total control over national property constitutes ownership in its most potent form. Totalitarian Authority
The New Class serves as a timeless warning about the dangers of concentrated state power, showing how well-intentioned movements for absolute equality can yield absolute tyranny.
Djilas' critique of communism is not just a critique of the new class, but also a critique of the entire communist system. He argues that communism, as a system, is inherently flawed and that its ideals are incompatible with human nature.
The full text of Milovan Djilas 's seminal work, The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System (often referred to by its Serbo-Croatian title Nova klasa
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