Given that Djilas’s work has been out of copyright in some jurisdictions (though check current laws in the EU/US), here is how to locate a scholarly or usable PDF:
Warning: Many fake "Nova Klasa.pdf" files circulating on torrent sites are either malware or mislabeled French political pamphlets. Always check the file size (real PDF is ~1-2 MB for text; larger for scanned images).
This work remains a crucial text for understanding the internal dynamics of 20th-century communist regimes and the nature of totalitarian power structures.
Nova Klasa (The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System) is the seminal 1957 work by Milovan Đilas, a former high-ranking Yugoslav official turned dissident. It is widely considered one of the most influential critiques of Communist regimes ever written by an insider. Core Argument: The "New Class"
Đilas argued that instead of creating a "classless society," Communist revolutions merely replaced the old ruling class with a new class of political bureaucrats Administrative Monopoly
: This new class derives its power not from private wealth, but from a total monopoly over the administration of nationalized property. Collective Ownership
: While property is "collectively" owned by the state in name, in practice, the bureaucracy "uses, enjoys, and disposes" of it as their own. Industrialization Tool
: Đilas suggests the party uses this system to force rapid industrialization, which in turn reinforces the bureaucracy's total control over society. Key Themes and Insights Totalitarian Control
: The new class excludes all rival centers of power, extending its control over every social relationship, including moral and philosophical views. Utopian Contradiction
: The book exposes the "ironic" gap between Communist egalitarian theory and the "refined tyranny" and "brutal exploitation" found in reality. Tyranny over the Mind
: Đilas critiques the dogmatic insistence that Marxism is a universal truth, used to justify total intellectual and social conformity. The Party as Backbone
: He describes the Communist Party as the "simplest mechanism" of power, acting as the sole backbone of political, economic, and ideological life. Historical Significance SUMMARY OF THE NEW CLASS - by Milovan Djilas - CIA
The book you're likely referring to is "The New Class: A Study of the Communist Bureaucracy" (original title in Serbian: "Nova Klasa"), written by Milovan Djilas in 1957. The book is a critical analysis of the social and political structure of Soviet-type socialist societies, arguing that a new ruling class had emerged in these societies, consisting of the communist party bureaucracy.
Here's an overview of the main ideas:
The New Class Concept
Djilas argued that in communist societies, a new ruling class had emerged, which he termed the "New Class". This class was composed of high-ranking communist party officials, government bureaucrats, and managers of state-owned enterprises. The New Class had supplanted the old capitalist class and had become the dominant force in society.
Characteristics of the New Class
Djilas identified several key characteristics of the New Class:
Critique of Soviet-type Socialism
Djilas was critical of the Soviet-type socialist system, arguing that it had failed to create a truly egalitarian society. Instead, he claimed that the system had given rise to a new form of exploitation, in which the New Class exploited the working class and the peasantry.
Impact and Legacy
"The New Class" was a significant critique of Soviet-type socialism, and it had a substantial impact on Western thought about communism. The book was widely read and discussed in the 1950s and 1960s and remains an important work in the study of communist systems.
Keep in mind that I'm providing a general overview, and the specific content of the PDF you're looking for might vary.
The New Class: Milovan Djilas's Definitive Critique of Communist Bureaucracy
In 1957, a manuscript smuggled out of a Yugoslav prison arrived in New York, destined to become one of the most influential political documents of the 20th century. Milovan Djilas, once the heir apparent to Josip Broz Tito, published The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System (Nova Klasa). It was the first time a high-ranking Communist official provided a systematic Marxist critique of why the revolution had failed to deliver a classless society. The Core Thesis: A New Form of Ownership
The central argument of The New Class is that Communist revolutions, though conducted in the name of abolishing classes, inadvertently created a new ruling elite. The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System
Title: The Heretic’s Blueprint: Milovan Djilas and the Anatomy of the ‘New Class’
Subtitle: How a Yugoslav Vice President foresaw the bureaucracy’s quiet coup against communism.
While reading the Milovan Djilas Nova Klasa.pdf, pay close attention to the following sections, which are the most frequently highlighted by scholars:
Q: Is there a free PDF of "Nova Klasa" by Milovan Djilas? A: Yes, the book is often available via the Internet Archive (Open Library) for borrowing. However, due to copyright, widespread free distribution is illegal. Many universities provide access through their library portals.
Q: Why did Tito imprison Djilas for writing this book? A: Because the book argued that Tito and the Yugoslav Communist Party were a privileged elite, not a workers' paradise. It undermined the legitimacy of the entire Yugoslav socialist project.
Q: Is "The New Class" considered a right-wing or left-wing book? A: It is neither. Djilas remained a socialist critic. He did not advocate for capitalism; he advocated for a stateless, classless communism (anarchism). The book is hated by both Marxists (for attacking the party) and capitalists (for critiquing material accumulation).
Q: How long is the book? A: The 1957 English edition is approximately 224 pages. The PDF scan is usually around 3-5 MB in size.
If you are writing a thesis or conducting serious research, purchase the official ebook to support the preservation of dissident literature. If you are a curious citizen, seek out the PDF through your local library’s interlibrary loan system. The truth, as Djilas learned, is worth the effort.
To understand the magnitude of this book, one must understand the author. Milovan Đilas was not a Western critic looking in; he was a true insider. He was a Vice-President of Yugoslavia under Tito, a dedicated communist revolutionary who fought against the Nazis, and a man who helped orchestrate the Yugoslav revolution.
The New Class is the book that got him imprisoned. Published in the West in 1957 while he was still a high-ranking official, it represents the first thorough, systematic dismantling of the Communist system by one of its own architects. It remains one of the most important political texts of the 20th century.
Djilas’ most provocative term was the "Red Bourgeoisie." He argued that the Soviet Union was not a socialist state, nor was it state capitalism. It was a new form of class society more brutal than the old capitalism because it lacked the "civilizing" pressures of a free market or a free press. Milovan Djilas Nova Klasa.pdf
He famously wrote:
"The new class appropriates its privileges and economic preference in the form of material gain and social prestige. The ownership of the means of production is not the same as the control of the means of production."
Milovan Djilas died in 1995, having witnessed the fall of the very system he critiqued. He was never fully forgiven by the Left, nor fully embraced by the Right. Yet The New Class remains a chilling work of political anthropology.
It forces a question that modern citizens—whether in Beijing, Moscow, or Washington—should still ask: If a class is defined by its control over the primary means of production, and today the primary means of production is data, surveillance, and administrative power... who is the New Class now?
Further Reading: The New Class by Milovan Djilas (1957). Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Note: This article is a summary and analysis based on the subject provided. For direct citations, please refer to the original PDF of "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
Title: The Heretic’s Blueprint: Bureaucratic Collectivism and the Pathology of Power in Milovan Djilas’s The New Class
Author: [Your Name/Academic Institution] Course: Political Theory / Comparative Communism Date: October 26, 2023
Abstract: Milovan Djilas’s The New Class (1957) remains one of the most powerful insider critiques of communist systems ever written. Drawing on his experience as a senior Yugoslav partisan and Vice President under Tito, Djilas argued that the Soviet-styled revolution did not abolish class exploitation but rather replaced it with a new, more durable form: rule by the party bureaucracy. This paper argues that Djilas’s thesis—that political privilege, not economic ownership, defines the new ruling class—provides a robust framework for understanding the stagnation and eventual collapse of Eastern European regimes. The analysis proceeds in four parts: the theoretical break from Marxism, the mechanism of class formation, the sociopsychological profile of the bureaucrat, and the lasting relevance of Djilas’s model to contemporary managerial capitalism.
1. Introduction: The Apostate’s Question
In 1954, Milovan Djilas was a revolutionary hero. By 1957, he was a dissident imprisoned for publishing The New Class. His central question was deceptively simple: If the communist revolution abolished private property, why did it not abolish inequality? His answer was radical: the revolution had produced a new exploiting class—the party bureaucracy. Unlike Marx’s bourgeoisie, this class did not own the means of production outright; instead, it controlled them through political monopoly. Djilas thereby transformed the critique of communism from an economic one (failure of planning) to a political one (emergence of a new oligarchy).
2. Deconstructing Orthodoxy: The Dialectics of Betrayal
Djilas begins by accepting the Marxist premise that history is a series of class struggles. However, he decisively breaks from Lenin and Stalin by arguing that a party-led revolution cannot abolish class per se. “The idea of a classless society,” writes Djilas (1957, p. 37), “has proved to be an illusion. The communists have not succeeded in creating a society without classes, but only in creating a new class of bureaucratic exploiters.”
This is a profound revision. Orthodox Marxism held that class disappears when private ownership of productive forces is abolished. Djilas counters that ownership is less important than control. The state, under communism, becomes the sole proprietor. Those who administer the state—the party officials, directors, secret police, and military commanders—thus wield ownership power collectively. Hence, “the new class appropriates the national income not through direct ownership but through the monopoly of administration” (Djilas, 1957, p. 45).
3. The Anatomy of the New Class
Djilas identifies four mechanisms through which this class perpetuates itself:
Crucially, Djilas argues that this class is more stable than capitalism’s bourgeoisie, because its wealth is not subject to market fluctuations; it is guaranteed by the police and the army. Milovan Djilas — "The New Class": Analysis and
4. The Psychology of the Bureaucrat
One of the most insightful sections of the book describes the dual consciousness of the new class member. He sincerely believes in communist ideals while ruthlessly pursuing personal power. Djilas calls this “revolutionary hypocrisy” (1957, p. 152). The bureaucrat experiences:
This produces a neurotic ruling class that fears two things above all: market reforms (which would introduce economic competition) and true democracy (which would introduce political competition). As Djilas puts it, “The new class fears freedom more than it fears counter-revolution” (1957, p. 168).
5. Contemporary Relevance: From Tito to Technocrats
While The New Class was written about Stalinism, its analytical lens has proven flexible. Two applications stand out:
5.1 Post-Soviet Oligarchy: Djilas’s model predicted that when the party’s monopoly on force collapses, the new class simply converts political power into private property. The Russian oligarchs of the 1990s—former party secretaries who bought state assets for kopecks—are the perfect Djilasian type.
5.2 Managerial Capitalism: Critic Noam Chomsky (1986) extended Djilas’s logic to Western corporations. The modern CEO, who does not own the company but controls it through stock options and board networks, constitutes a “new class” within capitalism. While not identical to Djilas’s bureaucracy, the similarity in control without classical ownership is striking.
6. Criticisms and Limitations
No paper on Djilas is complete without addressing central critiques:
7. Conclusion
The New Class endures not as a flawless empirical study but as a work of political prophecy. Milovan Djilas took Marx’s tool—class analysis—and turned it against the system Marx inspired. He demonstrated that political power, when unchecked by markets or elections, generates its own form of inequality, more durable and less visible than private property. For students of authoritarianism, Djilas provides a necessary corrective: the enemy is not just capitalism, but any system that centralizes control without accountability. The PDF of his work is not merely a historical document; it is a mirror held up to every bureaucracy that claims to serve the people while serving itself.
References
Appendix: Key Passages from The New Class (by page, 1983 ed.)
| Page | Quote | |------|-------| | 37 | “The new class acquires its strength from the party and the state.” | | 67 | “Ownership is a right, not a thing. Under communism, the state possesses the right.” | | 134 | “The revolution devours its own children, but it spits out bureaucrats.” | | 179 | “After Stalin, the new class consolidated. After Tito, it will do the same.” |
Djilas’s The New Class argues that communist revolutions produced a new ruling elite — bureaucratic party-state officials — who, despite the abolition of private property, exercise de facto control over resources and society, reproduce privileges, and betray revolutionary egalitarian goals; the work’s insider perspective, conceptual clarity, and normative force made it a foundational critique of communist regimes and a durable lens for analyzing bureaucratic domination and elite capture.
If you want, I can: (1) provide a more detailed chapter-by-chapter summary; (2) compare Djilas’s thesis to a specific country (USSR, China, or Yugoslavia); or (3) draft a short critical essay taking a position for publication.
Milovan Djilas's 1957 work, The New Class, argues that communist revolutions created a new ruling bureaucracy that controls the state and nationalized property, turning revolutionary ideals into a system of exploitation. The text highlights how this "new class" utilizes total control over the economy to maintain power and privilege. Further analysis of the text can be found in this study guide at Academia.edu.
Since I cannot directly access or display the content of a specific PDF file stored on your device, I have provided a comprehensive summary and analysis of the seminal work you referenced below. The Internet Archive (archive
Title: The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System Author: Milovan Djilas Year of Publication: 1957