The New Class: An Analysis of the Communist System (Harvest/Hbj Book)

Rating:
Summary: The apogee of the bureaucracy
Review: Djilas' book written in the nineteen fifties was a real bombshell for the top of the CP's and in leftist circles in Europe. It exposed the communist countries as regimes ruled by a very small oligarchy of high level party members (sometimes by only one person, the party secretary). They were totalitarian dictatorial States.
One bitter joke went around that the world's history could be summarized by three 'at' stages; matriarchat, patriarchat and secretariat.
This small oligarchy built around itself a heavy State bureaucracy (later named the Nomenklatura), through which it controlled the whole country, politically through the one party system, economically through State monopolies and ideologically through an absolute control of the media.
In fact, the masses were exploited with an iron fist.The Nomenklatura disposed of all the wealth. Everybody else had a job but lived in poverty.
Djilas' book gives a cynical picture of the functioning of a totalitarian State with its corruption, its enormous differences in living standards and its complete resistance to change.
For Djilas, communist regimes were slumbering civil wars between the government and the population. The government could only keep control by using physical (knocking down insurrections, incarceration and show trials) and ideological (censure) violence.
Djilas also analyzes the role of Lenin and Stalin in the creation of this State bureaucracy.
The Hungarian Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertesz defined the difference between fascism and communism as follows: fascism was a reality, communism a utopia, but both were characterized by the ruling of one party which wielded uncontrolled and unlimited power. Both were a disaster for the population.
Djilas' book is the 'classic' about totalitarian bureaucracies. A must read, not only for historians.

Rating:
Summary: The Nucleus of His Thoughts
Review: This 1957 book of ten essays contains no index. I found some essays thought provoking, others not. "The Essence" is the shortest chapter, and gives a sample of his thoughts. The basic philosophic ideals of Communism, dialectics and materialism, did not originate with Marx and Engels. They can be traced back to ancient Greece: the primacy of matter to Democritus, the reality of change to Heraclitus. Marx wanted to discover the basic laws of society, like Darwin's laws (p.2). The major flaw of Communism is their belief of sole knowledge of the laws of society, and their sole right to control society. This is a dogmatic religion (p.3). Society and individuals strive to increase and perfect production; this causes conflict with others, and competition to survive. Natural and social barriers must be changed to eliminated. Classes, parties, and political systems are an expression of this ceaseless movement (pp.11-12).

Countries that are exploited for their raw materials and cheap labor must create a revolutionary movement to free themselves from foreign domination (p.16). Revolutions occur when the old political system is an obstacle to new economic or social relationships (p.18). They lead to political democracy and a freer production of goods (p.19). Djilas says the industrialization which followed the Russian Revolution was responsible for their success; defeat in war was a necessary precondition (p.22). Other revolutions offered greater legal security and civil rights (p.27). While the people are used to win a revolution, the ultimate benefits flow to the new ruling class (p.27). Djilas calls them "a new class" because they came to power to establish a new economic order, not after the new economy existed (p.38). Communists were more powerful than any other class because of their unity of belief and disciplines members (p.39).

Every ruling class justifies its rule as benefiting the ruled by preventing chaos and ruin (p.59). Party ideological unity is the basis for personal dictatorship, and strengthens it. It abolishes democracy, and makes ideas follow personal power. Ideological unity becomes prejudice (p.77). Djilas imagines a "lawful state" where the judiciary would be independent of the government (p.88). [Can that ever be?] Communists use elections and a parliament to provide a display of legitimacy for the public. Their parliaments approve that which was decided for them (p.94). Laws are issued without considering the real situations and practicalities (p.95). [Like in some states?]

Djilas notes the development of heavy industry prevented the USSR from being conquered by Hitler, but he claims this wasn't important (p.116)! A once-backward Russia attained second place in world production in its most important branches of the economy, and became the mightiest continental power (p.117). "Every ideology, every opinion, tries to represent itself as the only true one and complete one. This is innate to man's thinking" (p.124). Djilas quotes a poet to compare Calvin to Stalin as to dogmatic intolerance (pp.130-1).

Djilas essay "The Aim and the Means" tells me he enjoyed being a revolutionary, but did not enjoy life after the revolution. Its like those who look back to their years in college or the military and not the following decades. Page 158 compares the party purges to those of Imperial Rome or Renaissance times. Could these purges be like fashion: some are in, some are out? Or like high school cliques? The United States is carrying out nationalization not by changing ownership, but by putting more national income into government hands (p.199).