Fighting to refute the distorted views about the current socialist regime in Vietnam

Dr. LE XUAN HUAN
Academy of Politics, Ministry of National Defense

1. Introduction

The cause of building and defending the Fatherland, especially the cause of national renovation over the past 40 years, has proven the superiority and good nature of the socialist regime that our Party, State and people are building. However, hostile forces with malicious political motives always seek to deny, blacken, and distort this goal, claiming that “the current socialist regime in Vietnam is socialist in appearance but capitalist in heart”. Fighting against that erroneous and hostile viewpoint, protecting the Party’s ideological foundation on socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam is of great significance today, contributing to consolidating and strengthening the people’s trust in the Party, social consensus, and defeating the plot of “peaceful evolution” by hostile and reactionary forces.

2. The reactionary and dangerous nature of the argument that “the current socialist regime in Vietnam is socialist in appearance but capitalist in heart”

Socialism is the goal and ideal of the Party and the Vietnamese people; advancing to socialism is an objective requirement and the inevitable path of the Vietnamese revolution. During the process of renovation in the socialist-oriented direction initiated and led by our Party, there have been concerns over whether “renovation” means “changing color,” whether the renovation process can maintain the socialist orientation, and whether development is in accordance with the laws of motion. Therefore, the comprehensive renovation of the country while maintaining the socialist orientation under the leadership of the Party is a major issue, drawing attention both domestically and internationally in recent years.

In the late 80s and early 90s of the 20th century, realistic socialism fell into a serious crisis and collapsed in the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries; however, with strong political will, and steadfast adherence to Marxism-Leninism and the goal of national independence and socialism, our Party affirmed: “World history is going through twists and turns; however, mankind will ultimately move towards socialism because that is the evolutionary law of history”(1). At the 11th National Party Congress, in the Platform for national construction in the transitional period to socialism (supplemented and developed in 2011), our Party continued to affirm: “Moving towards socialism is the aspiration of our people, the right choice of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh, in line with the development trend of history”(2).

In practice, after nearly 40 years of renovation, the theory of socialism and the path to socialism in our country has been increasingly perfected and gradually realized. We have accomplished outstanding achievements of historical significance, developed strongly and comprehensively compared to the years before renovation, and are considered by international friends as a model of stability and development. However, hostile forces have deliberately distorted and misrepresented the notion of the bypassing of capitalism in Vietnam. They claim that the achievements that Vietnam has made are due to “applying the capitalist model”, that “renovation in Vietnam is simply applying the market economy of capitalism and adding the “tail” of “socialist-oriented”, therefore “renovation in Vietnam is actually nothing new, it is simply correcting previous mistakes”.

More maliciously, they claim that the current socialist regime in Vietnam is “capitalism disguised as socialism”, and so on.

This rhetoric by hostile forces can be approached in two ways:

Firstly, focusing on the limitations and negative aspects of society: they delve into the inevitable limitations and shortcomings of the transitional period to deny the path to socialism in our country, claiming that Vietnam has long since departed from the principles of Marxism - Leninism in building socialism; that the Communist Party of Vietnam has abandoned its revolutionary nature; the social reality in Vietnam today is also full of inequality, injustice, oppression, and exploitation, no different from the capitalist regimes that we have criticized. Therefore, socialism in Vietnam is only a “shell”, that is, only in name, in declarations and slogans, while the essence is the opposite. With this approach, they slander and defame the Communist Party of Vietnam, focusing on the weaknesses of some local Party committees and authorities, leading to people’s frustrations, to spread anti-Party and anti-regime sentiments.

Secondly, focusing on the root causes of our achievements in the renovation process: they believe that the economic and socialist model during the subsidy period in our country is the “true” socialist model, and the crisis we faced reflected the “failure” of scientific socialism; and that the reason Vietnam has achieved miraculous progress in economic and social development is thanks to abandoning the methods of socialism and the adaptation of capitalism. Specifically, referring to applying the market economy, developing the private economy, building a rule-of-law State attributes that they consider to be typical products of capitalism.

According to this approach, they want to totally deny the value of the socialist regime, absolutize the value of the capitalist regime; completely deny the Party’s contributions in researching and creating the path and methods for building socialism. By doing this, they want to spread skepticism among the people about the nature of the socialist regime in Vietnam.

Thus, it can be seen that no matter which approach is taken, this argument is particularly dangerous. Their plot is nothing more than to deny the good nature of the socialist regime in Vietnam, deny the leadership role of the Party, defame and distort the nature of the Party, cause division between the Party and the people, and steer our country towards the path of capitalism.

3. Arguments and evidence to refute

Firstly, the transition to socialism bypassing capitalism is the consistent understanding of the Party and the consistent path of the Vietnamese revolution

Since its inception and throughout the leadership of the revolution, our Party has affirmed that the path of the Vietnamese revolution is to transition to socialism bypassing capitalism. The Party’s understanding of the transition to socialism bypassing capitalism has continuously developed through different periods, with the key point being a clearer and more accurate understanding of which elements belong to the essence of capitalism that we resolutely will not adopt or follow, and which elements are achievements of human civilization, developed under capitalism, that we need to learn from and inherit. Clarifying this issue is the basis to eliminate the reactionary argument that Vietnam is “applying a capitalist model under the guise of socialism” today.

Right in the first Political Platform drafted by leader Nguyen Ai Quoc and presented at the Party’s Founding Conference, our Party clearly defined the path of the Vietnamese revolution as “carrying out bourgeois democratic revolution and land revolution to move towards a communist society”(3). Later, in other Party’s documents, it was also expressed: carrying out anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolution or carrying out the people’s national democratic revolution to advance towards communism, with the initial stage being socialism.

At the 6th National Party Congress (1986), our Party determined: “The transitional period in our country, due to advancing directly to socialism from a small-scale production base, bypassing the stage of capitalist development, is naturally long and difficult. It is a period of profound, comprehensive, and radical revolutionary transformation aimed at building from scratch a new socialist regime in terms of productive forces, production relations, and superstructure. It is a period of very complicated class struggle, a struggle between the two paths of socialism and capitalism in all aspects of social life to solve the problem of “who wins over whom”(4).

The Platform for national construction in the transitional period to socialism in 1991 stated: “Our country is in the transitional period to socialism, skipping the capitalist regime, from a society that was still colonial, semi-feudal, with very low productive forces”(5). From the transition of “skipping the stage of capitalist development” to the transition of “skipping the capitalist regime” is a breakthrough in the development of our Party’s understanding of the path to socialism in Vietnam. However, at this time, the essential contents of the transition to socialism “skipping the capitalist regime” has not yet been clarified which factors are skipped and which factors are inherited.

By the 9th Congress (2001), the connotation of bypassing capitalism was clearly stated out by our Party: “The chosen path for our country is the transition to socialism bypassing capitalism, that is, bypassing the establishment of the dominant position of production relations and capitalist superstructure, but absorbing and inheriting the achievements that humanity has achieved under capitalism, especially in science and technology, to rapidly develop productive forces and build a modern economy”(6). In the Platform for national construction during the transition to socialism (supplemented and developed in 2011), our Party emphasized: A prominent feature of the current period of the era is that countries with different social systems and levels of development coexist, both cooperating and struggling, and competing fiercely for national and ethnic interests. The struggle of the peoples of the world for peace, national independence, democracy, development, and social progress, though facing many difficulties and challenges, will make new advances. According to the laws of historical evolution, humanity will inevitably advance to socialism.

During his lifetime, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: “To say that we bypass the capitalist regime means to bypass the oppressive, unjust, and exploitative regime of capitalism; bypassing the bad habits, political institutions and regimes that are not compatible with the socialist regime, not bypassing the achievements and civilized values ​​that has been achieved during the period of capitalist development. The inheritance of these achievements must be selective based on a scientific and developmental perspective”(7).

Thus, first and foremost at the level of platform and viewpoint, it can be firmly affirmed that Vietnam remains steadfast on its path to socialism. That path is built by learning, absorbing, and inheriting the achievements that humanity has achieved throughout history, including the achievements under capitalism, but resolutely eliminating the anti-progressive aspects, attributes, and elements of capitalism, especially the unequal relationship in ownership of the main means of production - which are the factors leading to oppression, exploitation, and injustice.

Secondly, the nature and characteristics of the socialist regime in Vietnam have been affirmed and increasingly perfected in the process of developing the Party’s theoretical thinking

With a burning desire to free our people from slavery and misery, to move towards a bright future, completely free from oppression, exploitation, and injustice, where all people can have a prosperous, free, and happy life, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh researched, explored, and tested the path to national salvation and liberation and came to the conclusion: “Only socialism and communism can completely liberate oppressed peoples from slavery; only socialist revolution can ensure true, genuine independence”(8). He also soon realized that in order to reach the noble goals of communism, it was inevitable to go through a long and arduous struggle, as V.I.Lenin once affirmed: “One cannot consider the socialist revolution as a one-time undertaking but must consider it an era of political and economic upheaval, an era of the most intense class struggle, an era of civil war, and an era of revolution and counter-revolution”(9). In that revolution, the struggle for liberation and the abolition of the old regime and its remnants was only the first step; the important and essential thing is how to build a new society, with what basic characteristics.

In the process of leading the revolution, especially since the implementation of the renovation process, facing the risk of “deviating from socialism” - one of the four major risks threatening the survival of the regime, our Party has constantly improved and enhanced its theoretical awareness of the characteristics of a socialist society, considering it to be a theoretical “anchor” to orient the practice of national construction and development. The Platform for National Construction in the Transitional Period to Socialism in 1991 clearly identified the characteristics of the Vietnamese socialist model, which is a society:

“- Owned by the working people.

- Having a highly developed economy based on modern productive forces and public ownership of the main means of production.

- Having an advanced culture, rich in national identity.

- Where the people are liberated from oppression, exploitation, and injustice, work according to their ability, get results according to their labor, have a prosperous, free, and happy life, and have conditions for comprehensive personal development.

- All ethnic groups in the country are equal, united and help one another to progress together.

- Having friendly relations and cooperation with the people of all countries in the world”(10).

At the 10th Congress (2006), summarizing 20 years of implementing the renovation process, our Party continued to develop its understanding of socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam, clearly identifying 8 characteristics: “The socialist society that our people are building is a society with a rich people, a strong country, an equitable, democratic, and civilized society; owned by the people; with a highly developed economy, based on modern productive forces and production relations appropriate to the level of development of productive forces; with an advanced culture, deeply imbued with national identity; the people are liberated from oppression, injustice, have a prosperous, free, happy life, and comprehensive development; the ethnic groups in the Vietnamese community are equal, united, mutually supportive and help one another to progress; there is a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people under the leadership of the Communist Party; with friendly relations and cooperation with the people of all countries in the world”(11).

The 11th Congress adopted the Platform for national construction in the transitional period to socialism (supplemented and Developed in 2011), in which the characteristics of a socialist society continued to be perfected. The Platform determined: “The socialist society that our people are building is a society: With a rich people, strong country, democracy, equitability, civilization; owned by the people; with a highly developed economy based on modern productive forces and appropriate progressive production relations; with an advanced culture, deeply imbued with national identity; the people have a prosperous, free, happy life, with conditions for comprehensive development; the ethnic groups in the Vietnamese community are equal, united, mutually respect and help one another to develop together; there is a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people led by the Communist Party of Vietnam; and has friendly and cooperative relations with countries around the world”(12).

The fact that our Party constantly affirms and clarifies the characteristics of a socialist society, thereby orienting and directing the practice of building and developing the country, has shown that the social regime that Vietnam is aiming for is a true socialist regime, both in name and in substance, and is absolutely not “capitalism disguised as socialism” as hostile forces have slandered and claimed.

Thirdly, the renovation process in Vietnam is the result of exploring and creating a path and method for building socialism based on the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism.

With the intention to deny the path to socialism in Vietnam, hostile and reactionary forces have deliberately made false arguments and distorted the facts, claiming that renovation in Vietnam is just “applying the capitalist model”. In particular, they focus on the core content of the renovation process, which is the shift by our Party and State from a centralized, bureaucratic and subsidized economic management mechanism to a market mechanism. According to their argument, the market economy is a “distinct product” and an “essential characteristic of capitalism”; once a market mechanism is adopted, it is inevitable to follow market rules, with economic actors and components having to compete fiercely to maximize profits, thus inevitably leading to inequality and injustice and therefore making socialism impossible and the combination of a market economy with a socialist orientation inherently contradictory. However, both in theory and in practice, these are completely false and distorted arguments.

First, it must be affirmed that the market economy is not the “offspring” of capitalism, as commodity-based economies existed even before the emergence of money, in the form of bartering. Thus, the market economy, as a highly developed commodity economy, is a common achievement of humanity throughout many historical periods. The market economy had its embryonic form in slave-owning societies, took shape under feudalism, and developed to a high level under capitalism. Before capitalism, the market economy was in its early, primitive stage, whereas under capitalism it reached a high level. Therefore, applying a market economic mechanism is an act of inheriting and absorbing the civilization of humanity, which of course includes the achievements of capitalism, but it is not “applying the capitalist model”.

The market economy in Vietnam is a socialist-oriented market economy. This is “a very fundamental and creative theoretical breakthrough by our Party, an important theoretical achievement after 35 years of implementing the renovation policy, originating from Vietnam’s material conditions and selectively absorbing the world’s experience”(13). The socialist-oriented market economy in our country is an economy that operates fully and synchronously according to the laws of the market, closely linked to the role of orientation, direction, regulation, and management of the State, under the leadership of the Party, to ensure that the operation of market laws does not lead to social inequality and injustice like under capitalism. Rather, it always operates within certain limits and frameworks, aiming for the goal of “a rich people, a strong country, democratic, equitable, and civilized society”. It is an economy that both ensures equality among economic sectors and ensures the leading role of the state economy. It respects free competition while ensuring that economic growth is linked with cultural development and social progress and justice. It is an economy that guarantees workers’ ownership rights and implements a distribution regime mainly based on labor results, economic efficiency, as well as on capital contributions and other resources, and distributes through the social welfare and security system and so on.

The integration between the market economy and the socialist orientation is not a mechanical, modelled, and forced bond; it is not about mutual hindrance but about support and complementarity; it is not about “applying the capitalist model” but rather elevating the market economy to a new level, qualitatively different from capitalism.

It is necessary to recognize that the renovation process in Vietnam is not only about economic renovation, although that is the central focus, but is a comprehensive and synchronous renovation in all aspects of social life. In particular, the factor that reflects the strong characteristics and socialist-oriented attributes in the market economy in Vietnam is the unity between economic policy and social policy: “economic development goes along with cultural and social development, implementing social progress and equity in every step and every policy”(14). We do not choose to “sacrifice” or “prioritize” between economic development and social progress and equity but carry them out in a simultaneous way, connecting and blending them together, considering one element as the driving force for the other and vice versa. Along with this, we consider culture as the spiritual foundation of society, “taking the values of Vietnamese cultural ​​and people as the foundation, as an important endogenous strength to ensure our sustainable development”(15).

That means we are aware of and proactively prevent from the outset the negative impacts of the market economy mechanism on the process of cultural development, not allowing the market mechanism to destroy the good traditional cultural values ​​of the nation, or not allowing it to hinder the construction of a new socialist culture. And above all, renovation in our country is for the people, centering the people in the development process. We develop a market economy, but it is a market economy that helps the people feel happy in working and contributing, not a market economy that aims at profit or exploiting labor power to the maximum as under capitalism.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed: “We need a society in which any development is truly for the people, not for profit that exploits and tramples on human dignity. We need economic development that goes hand in hand with social progress and justice, not increasing the gap between rich and poor and social inequality. We need a society of compassion, solidarity, mutual support, and progressive and humane values, not unfair competition, “big fish swallowing small fish”, for the selfish interests of a few individuals and groups. We need sustainable development - people living in harmony with nature - to ensure a healthy living environment for present and future generations, not for exploiting, appropriating resources, consuming materials without limit, and destroying the environment. And we need a political system in which power truly belongs to the people, by the people and serves the interests of the people, not just a wealthy minority”(16).

Fourthly, the reality of Vietnamese society is living proof of the good nature of the socialist regime

Before the renovation, Vietnam was a poor, underdeveloped country, and the people faced many difficulties in their daily lives. Thanks to the renovation policy, the country’s economy has gradually stabilized and achieved high growth for many years. Despite facing numerous challenges, Vietnam is striving to become a global phenomenon, consistently maintaining stability and development. “GDP scale at current prices in 2023 is estimated at VND 10,221.8 trillion, equivalent to USD 430 billion. GDP per capita in 2023 at current prices is estimated at VND 101.9 million/person, equivalent to USD 4,284.5, an increase of USD 160 compared to 2022’s”(17). With these results, Vietnam’s economic scale in 2023 ranked 34th in the world economies according to the CEBR (Center for Economics and Business Research - UK). Along with this, the material and spiritual life of the people has been constantly improved.

In the political field, the leadership role of the Communist Party of Vietnam over the State and society is increasingly affirmed and consolidated; the Party’s leadership, governance and fighting capacity are constantly enhanced. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s rule-of-law State is increasingly being developed and perfected, improving its management efficiency, worthy of being the State of the people, by the people, for the people. The socialist democratic regime is increasingly becoming more substantial; the people are guaranteed and practically exercising their mastery over the State and society. The mechanism of Party leadership, State management, and people’s mastery is gradually being concretized and operated effectively.

In the cultural and social fields, our country has made critical progress. Culture has developed diversely and richly, national, scientific, and popular across all areas of social life, becoming a driving force for national development. Society has basically developed in a stable and harmonious manner, with emphasis on consensus; manifestations of social inequality are focused on and eliminated. Thanks to this, reality shows that although the economic scale and per capita income in our country are still at a low level, the people’s happiness index and satisfaction with life are higher than that in many countries with larger economies. This is a concrete and vivid manifestation of the value of the socialist regime.

In the field of national defense and security, Vietnam has been successful in building strategic guidelines as well as handling at the tactical level issues related to national defense, protecting the Fatherland, and maintaining security, order and social safety. Thanks to this, threats to independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity have been repelled; security in all areas has been ensured.

4. Conclusion

In summary, after nearly 80 years of national independence and nearly 40 years of renovation, Vietnam has made achievements of historical significance and has gathered all the conditions to enter a new era - the era of the Vietnamese people’s rise. These are clear proofs that affirm that the path to socialism in our country is consistent with the reality in Vietnam and the development trends of the times; the superior nature of socialism is increasingly vividly and clearly demonstrated in Vietnam.

These achievements are the premise for the Vietnamese people to believe in the future and are also a completely reliable and convincing basis for us to fight against all reactionary and erroneous plots and arguments made by hostile forces.

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Received: August 30, 2024; Revised: December 20, 2024; Approved for publication: December 24, 2024.

Endnotes:

(1) CPV: Platform for national construction during the transitional period to socialism, Truth Publishing House, Hanoi, 1991, p.8.

(2) CPV: Documents of the 11th National Party Congress, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p.24.

(3) CPV: Complete Party Documents, vol.2, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2002, p.2.

(4), (5), (6), (10) CPV: Party Congress documents in the renovation period, vol.I, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2019, pp.41, 428, 863, 306.

(7), (13), (16) Nguyen Phu Trong: Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2022, pp.25, 25, 21-22.

(8) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.12, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p.563.

(9) V.I.Lenin: Complete Works, vol.26, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2006, p.444.

(11), (12), (14) CPV: Party Congress documents in the renovation period, vol.II, op. cit., pp.93, 316, 414.

(15) CPV: Documents of the 13th National Party Congress, vol.I, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2021, p.216.

(17) General Statistics Office, Report on socio-economic situation in the fourth quarter and year 2023.