Milovan Djilas Nova Klasa.pdf -
Milovan Djilas's "The New Class" (1957) argues that communist revolutions inevitably create a privileged political bureaucracy that monopolizes power and controls nationalized property for its own benefit. This analysis highlights the ideological contradiction between socialist theory and the reality of a parasitic, self-serving elite. Access the English edition on or a Russian PDF on Vtoraya Literatura RCIN.org.pl
Milovan Đilas's 1957 work, The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System , argues that socialist revolutions created a "new class" of party bureaucrats who control nationalized property, replacing private ownership with a monopoly on power. This elite, as described by the former Yugoslav official, perpetuates a totalitarian system of exploitation rather than a worker's paradise, while stifling intellectual freedom and economic innovation. The full text is available via Internet Archive .
Milovan Djilas's The New Class argues that Communist revolutions create a distinct ruling elite of party bureaucrats who exploit nationalized property for personal gain. The work outlines how this "new class" enforces ideological conformity to maintain a monopoly on power, transforming revolutionary ideals into bureaucratic tyranny. For an academic overview of these arguments, visit Academia.edu . The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System
The New Class is a masterpiece of political dissent. It stripped the Soviet-style regimes of their moral legitimacy before the rest of the world realized their economic bankruptcy. Milovan Djilas Nova Klasa.pdf
Djilas’s critique began subtly in articles for the communist journal Borba (Struggle), but by 1953-1954, his tone had turned heretical. He rejected the idea that communism was a "workers' paradise." Instead, he argued that socialism had created a closed system of social stratification.
According to Djilas, a revolutionary communist elite—the party bureaucracy—emerges not to usher in a classless society but to entrench its own power. This "new class" gains control over the nationalized means of production, distributing wealth and privilege to itself while ruling through a monopoly of political power and ideological dogma. He famously argued that the party had become "the new class" of political bureaucrats.
According to Djilas, is defined by three characteristics: Milovan Djilas's "The New Class" (1957) argues that
Is Djilas still relevant in the age of tech billionaires and social media? Surprisingly, yes. Sociologists have adapted Djilas’ concept to describe not just communist states, but Western corporatism.
Published in 1957, by Milovan Djilas remains one of the most influential critiques of Marxist-Leninist regimes. Writing from a prison cell in Yugoslavia, Djilas—once a high-ranking communist official—exposed the paradox of a "classless" society that had birthed a new, more oppressive ruling elite. The Core Thesis: Rise of the Bureaucratic Elite
Unlike traditional owners, this class does not "own" property through private deeds. Instead, they exercise by controlling the state, which in turn owns all national resources. The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System This elite, as described by the former Yugoslav
To understand the concept of the "new class," one must first understand the author himself. Milovan Đilas was not an outside critic of communism but one of its most prominent and powerful architects. A revolutionary from his youth, he was a key organizer of the partisan resistance against Nazi occupation during World War II, a close associate of Josip Broz Tito, and a key figure in the establishment of communist Yugoslavia. He rose to become a vice president of the country, making him the third most powerful man in the state.
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The book Nova Klasa: Analiza Komunističkog Sistema (The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System) was written in 1955, after Djilas had been expelled from the party and imprisoned. It was published in English in 1957 by Frederick A. Praeger, but the original Serbo-Croatian manuscript was smuggled out of Yugoslavia.
Djilas argued that in every communist revolution, the proletariat does not liberate itself. Instead, a specific group—the Communist Party—organizes the revolution. After the revolution succeeds, this party does not dissolve the state (as Marx predicted). Instead, they become the state.
