Milovan Djilas Nova Klasa Pdf 86l: A Dissident's Perspective on Yugoslav and Soviet Communism
Milovan Djilas Nova Klasa Pdf 86l: A Critical Review of a Classic Work on Communism
Milovan Djilas was a Yugoslav communist leader who became one of the first and most influential dissidents in the history of communist Eastern Europe. His book Nova Klasa (The New Class), published in 1957, was a groundbreaking critique of the communist system that exposed its inherent contradictions, flaws, and dangers. In this article, we will review Djilas's book in detail, examine its main arguments and themes, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and explore its relevance and importance for today's world.
Milovan Djilas Nova Klasa Pdf 86l
Introduction
Who is Milovan Djilas and what is his book Nova Klasa about?
Milovan Djilas (1911-1995) was a prominent figure in Yugoslav communism who rose to become one of the closest associates of Josip Broz Tito, the founder and leader of communist Yugoslavia. He participated in the partisan guerrilla war against Nazi invaders during World War II, held various high-ranking positions in the party and government after the war, and played a key role in Yugoslavia's break with Stalin's Soviet Union in 1948. However, he soon became disillusioned with communism as he witnessed its corruption, oppression, and inefficiency. He began to criticize the party and its ideology, calling for more democracy, freedom, and socialism. He was expelled from the party in 1954, put on trial for "hostile propaganda" in 1955, and spent most of his life in prison or under house arrest.
Nova Klasa (The New Class) was Djilas's most famous and controversial work. It was written while he was in prison in 1956-57, smuggled out to the West, and published in English by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1957. It was translated into sixty languages and sold three million copies worldwide. It was a devastating critique of communism that challenged its claims to represent the interests of the workers and peasants. It argued that communism had created a new class of privileged bureaucrats who exploited and oppressed the masses for their own benefit. It exposed communism as a totalitarian system that stifled human creativity, freedom, and dignity. It also predicted that communism would eventually collapse under its own contradictions or be overthrown by popular resistance.
Why is this book relevant and important today?
Nova Klasa is a classic work of political theory and analysis that has influenced generations of scholars, activists, and thinkers. It is one of the first and most comprehensive critiques of communism from an insider's perspective. It provides a valuable insight into the nature and dynamics of communist regimes and movements. It also offers a vision of a democratic and socialist alternative to communism that is based on humanism, pluralism, and decentralization. Nova Klasa is relevant and important today because it helps us understand the history and legacy of communism, its impact on the world, and its challenges for the future. It also helps us reflect on the current problems and possibilities of democracy, socialism, and human rights in a globalized and complex world.
What is the main argument and thesis of the book?
The main argument and thesis of Nova Klasa is that communism has failed to fulfill its promises and ideals, and has instead created a new class of exploiters and oppressors who rule over the masses with an iron fist. Djilas argues that this new class is composed of party officials, state managers, military officers, intellectuals, and other elites who control the means of production, distribution, and communication in communist societies. He claims that this new class has its own interests, values, and ideology that are distinct from and opposed to those of the workers and peasants. He contends that this new class uses violence, propaganda, censorship, indoctrination, and manipulation to maintain its power and privilege. He asserts that this new class is responsible for the degeneration and corruption of communism into a totalitarian system that violates human rights, suppresses dissent, stifles innovation, and wastes resources. He concludes that this new class is doomed to fail because it faces internal contradictions, external pressures, and popular resistance.
Background and Context
A brief biography of Milovan Djilas and his role in Yugoslav communism
Milovan Djilas was born in 1911 in Podbišće, a village in Montenegro. He came from a peasant family that had a tradition of rebellion against foreign domination. He studied law and philosophy at the University of Belgrade, where he joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY) in 1932. He became a prominent leader of the party's youth wing and was arrested several times by the royalist regime for his revolutionary activities. He escaped from prison in 1941 and joined Tito's partisans who fought against Nazi occupation during World War II. He became one of Tito's closest comrades and advisers, serving as vice-president of the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ), chief editor of the party newspaper Borba, president of the Federal Assembly, vice-president of the Federal Executive Council, minister without portfolio, member of the Politburo, secretary for propaganda, chief negotiator with Stalin's representatives, envoy to Moscow in 1948, president of the Yugoslav Writers' Association, and author of several books on politics, history, literature, and culture.
However, Djilas gradually became disillusioned with communism as he witnessed its negative effects on Yugoslav society. He was disturbed by the lack of democracy, freedom, and justice within the party and the state. He was appalled by the repression, censorship, and persecution of dissidents and critics. He was disappointed by the inefficiency, waste, and bureaucracy of the planned economy. He was troubled by the alienation, apathy, and resentment of the masses. He was also concerned by the isolation, hostility, and rivalry between Yugoslavia and other communist countries. He began to voice his criticisms openly in his writings and speeches, calling for more democracy, freedom, socialism, and humanism in Yugoslavia. He also advocated for a peaceful coexistence with the West and a non-aligned foreign policy. He was met with fierce opposition from Tito and other party leaders who accused him of being a traitor, a revisionist, and an enemy agent. He was expelled from the party in 1954, put on trial in 1955, and sentenced to seven years in prison. He was released in 1961, but was arrested again in 1962 for publishing his memoirs Conversations with Stalin in which he revealed Stalin's crimes and criticized Tito's role in Stalin's purges. He was sentenced to another five years in prison. He was released in 1966, but was put under house arrest and banned from publishing until 1989. He died in 1995 in Belgrade.
A summary of the historical and political situation in Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union in the 1950s
The 1950s were a turbulent decade for Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, the two major communist powers in Europe. Yugoslavia emerged from World War II as a federation of six republics (Ser 71b2f0854b