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.
Djilas broke down how this class maintained power without formal stock ownership:
: The book's concept of a "new class" has had a lasting legacy. Its critiques have been applied not only to historical communist states but also to modern political and corporate bureaucracies. The idea of a powerful managerial elite that uses public institutions for private gain remains a potent and debated concept in political science and sociology. Milovan Djilas Nova Klasa.pdf
Those who enforce the regime's control through repression.
: For those interested in the historical context, Milovan Djilas's personal papers are held at the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University. They include the annotated original typescript of The New Class and his correspondence regarding its publication. Djilas’s critique began subtly in articles for the
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Below is a breakdown of the book's core arguments: Its critiques have been applied not only to
In 1957, a small, unassuming book slipped past censors in the West and was immediately smuggled back behind the Iron Curtain. Its author was not a disillusioned capitalist scholar, but the former Vice President of Yugoslavia, Milovan Djilas—once the closest comrade-in-arms to Josip Broz Tito.
The rise of communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the 20th century brought about a new class of rulers who claimed to represent the interests of the working class. However, as these regimes consolidated power, it became increasingly clear that the ruling elite had developed its own interests, often at odds with those of the working class. One of the most astute observers of this phenomenon was Milovan Djilas, a Yugoslav communist leader and writer, who in his seminal work "Nova Klasa" (New Class), published in 1957, critiqued the emergence of a new ruling class in communist societies.
In "The New Class", Đilas critiques the bureaucratic and authoritarian tendencies of socialist systems, arguing that they lead to the concentration of power in the hands of a privileged elite. He contends that this new class, which he calls the "red bourgeoisie," has interests that diverge from those of the working class and the broader population.