Perception and realization of the path toward socialism in Vietnam through nearly 40 years of renewal

ASSOC. PROF., DR. HO TRONG HOAI
Institute of Scientific Socialism,
Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics

1. Introduction

According to the objective evolution of history, humanity will inevitably advance toward socialism. The theoretical basis for that scientific belief was profoundly argued by the founders of Marxism-Leninism, who also provided us with essential guidance on the characteristics of socialism and the path toward it. However, history is a continuous flow and in the context of the modern era, many new issues have emerged that require summarization and analysis to supplement and develop this scientific theory. This is necessary to better reflect the realities of life and maintain its role as a guiding torch for practical activities.

In meet the country’s requirements in the new context, Vietnamese communists have increasingly recognized the importance of revolutionary theory. They have made significant efforts in researching and summarization to gradually form a theoretical system on socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam. After nearly 40 years of renovation, the Party’s theoretical understanding has achieved many important achievements. Initially, the theoretical system of renovation has been established and realized in practice.

2. The approach of the founders of Marxism - Leninism

Through theoretical study and summarization of human history, the founders of Marxism - Leninism affirmed that the development of socio-economic formations is a historical-natural process. Therefore, the emergence of communism, with socialism as its initial stage, replacing capitalism, is an objective inevitability.

From this premise, they posited that socialism emerges on the basis of humanity’s existing achievements. It represents a social regime that aims to overcome the limitations of previous societies. Economically, socialism seeks to eliminate capitalist private ownership of the means of production, a factor that has lost its revolutionary role and has become a barrier to social progress and productive forces. Politically, socialism seeks to overcome the flaws of bourgeois politics, which maintain power for a minority, and instead provides true power to the majority in society, and so on.

According to their initial forecasts, Marx and Engels suggested that a proletarian revolution, to be victorious, would need to occur simultaneously in capitalist countries or, at least, in the most developed ones like Britain, France, Germany, etc., By V.I. Lenin’s era, analyzing the characteristics of imperialism, the above prediction was adjusted. He argued that a proletarian revolution could break out at the weakest link of the capitalist chain, a theory proven correct by the victory of the October Revolution in Russia.

Based on their approach, Marx and Engels outlined the pathways and methods for building socialism, focusing on several key points:

Firstly, in the theory of the transitional period, Marx emphasized that communism must go through a prolonged and challenging transitional period, likened to “prolonged labor pains”. he political transition to communism was first clearly addressed in Critique of the Gotha Program. This was also the transitional period to communism that later researchers called “direct transition”. Lenin later added another form of transition, termed by researchers as “indirect transition,” based on the success of the October Revolution in a backward Russia. This period involves multiple stages and incremental transitions.

Secondly, economically, the following are key economic priorities:

After seizing political power from the bourgeoisie, the proletariat must use its strength to focus on rapidly developing productive forces. Socialism, as a regime replacing the capitalist regime, it must exist on its own basis. This means it requires productive forces that are more advanced than those under capitalism. This serves as the basis for affirming that, in essence, Marxism-Leninism is not only a theory to establish the political dominance of the proletariat to satisfy the pure interests of the class, but more broadly and humanely, it is a theory of development.

In order to continue to promote the development of productive forces, “The proletariat will use its dominance to gradually seize all capital from the bourgeoisie, to concentrate all productive instruments in the hands of the state, that is, in the hands of the proletariat organized as the ruling class, and to rapidly increase the number of productive forces”(1). That means it is necessary to establish new productive relations based on the public ownership of the means of productive relations mainly according to the principle affirmed in the Communist Manifesto, which entails “the abolition of private property”. Furthermore, it involves creating innovative organizational methods to manage production effectively, increase labor productivity, and distribute products primarily according to the principle of “distribution according to labor”.

Thirdly, in terms of politics, there are four major issues mentioned, including:

Establishing a state under the dictatorship of the proletariat. This state functions as the apparatus of power for the working class, exercising dictatorship over enemies, democracy for the people, and prioritizing the role of organizing and building;

Continuously expanding socialist democracy to establish the mastery of the working class and working people;

Building and consolidating the alliance between the working class, the peasantry, and other laboring classes under the leadership of a revolutionary party;

Creating a workers’ party as the vanguard of the working class, capable of leading both the class and society, and operating based on the fundamental principles of a revolutionary political party.

Fourthly, in terms of culture, a new socialist culture must be built, grounded in the inheritance of the values created by humanity.

Fifthly, in terms of society, a just and equal system must be established, free from class oppression, enslavement, and national oppression, where individuals can develop freely and comprehensively.

3. Understanding and realizing the path to building socialism in Vietnam over nearly 40 years of renovation according to Marxist-Leninist theory

Although they left the working class and working people around the world a rich theoretical legacy in the process of building socialism, the founders of Marxism-Leninism also noted that that theory needs to be understood and applied in accordance with certain historical conditions. F. Engels warned: “Our theory is the theory of development, not a dogma that one must learn by heart and repeat mechanically”(2). V.I. Lenin also noted: “We do not consider Marx’s theory as something that is completely finished and inviolable; on the contrary, we believe that that theory only lays the foundation for the science that socialists need to develop further in every aspect if they do not want to lag behind in life”(3).

Deeply imbued with that spirit, Ho Chi Minh said: “Currently, in terms of building socialism, while we have abundant experiences from fraternal countries, we cannot apply those experiences mechanically, because our country has its own characteristics”(4). He also noted, “we cannot be like the Soviet Union, because the Soviet Union has different customs, practices, history and geography, etc., we can take a different path to advance toward socialism”(5).

With the above methodology, on the basis of summarizing practice and studying theory, over the past 40 years, our Party has actively and proactively sought a path to socialism that is suitable to the new context of the times and the specific conditions of the country. At the beginning of that process, the 6th National Party Congress summarized and drew many lessons, including the lesson of respecting objective laws to overcome subjectivity and dogmatism. To date, the theory of the renovation policy has been developed in fundamental aspects and gradually realized by the Party, as stated in the 13th National Party Congress Document. Some key content includes the following:

First, determine the goals of the revolution

Since the first Document of the Party, the goal of the revolution has been determined to be national independence tied to socialism. However, as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong discussed in the work titled “Some Theoretical and Practical Issues on Socialism and the Path to Socialism in Vietnam”, this goal, which was once a natural choice, has become increasingly relevant in the new context. The reason is that after the collapse of socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, real socialism is facing great challenges. These events posed critical questions about what goals to pursue and how to progress toward socialism.

In that difficult context, with intelligence and courage, our Party still adheres to Marxism - Leninism, adheres to the goal of national independence tied to socialism. That choice was included in the Document of the 6th Central Conference of the 6th National Party Congress in 1989 and continues to be affirmed in the Party’s Documents. The Platform (supplemented and developed in 2011) stated: “The struggle of the people of all countries for peace, national independence, democracy, development, and social progress, despite many difficulties and challenges, will certainly make progress. According to the evolutionary law of history, mankind will certainly advance to socialism”(6).

Second, regarding the transition period to socialism

Understanding the transitional period is one of the most complicated issues of the socialist revolutionary process. This issue has been addressed in various Party Documents from the Brief Platform, Brief Strategy, to the Documents of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Congresses. However, in those documents, the transitional period to socialism has not been fully and deeply understood and is still heavily subjective. The 4th Congress envisioned the transitional period lasting about 3 to 4 five-year plans. Through practice, the 5th Congress re-affirmed that we are in the first stage of the transitional period.

Since the 6th Party Congress, the Party’s understanding of the transitional period to socialism has evolved significantly, including a number of key points:

First, the transition period to socialism was determined to be prolonged

Second, a deeper understanding of the basic characteristics and main contents of the transition period to socialism. This spirit is reflected in the work titled Some Theoretical and Practical Issues on Socialism and the Path to Socialism in Vietnam by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong: “The more we go into practical guidance, the more our Party realizes that the transition to socialism is a long-term, extremely difficult and complicated undertaking, because it must create profound qualitative changes in all areas of social life. Vietnam is to advance to socialism from a backward agricultural country, skipping the capitalist regime, with very low productive forces, and going through decades of war with very serious consequences; Hostile forces constantly seek to sabotage, so it becomes even more difficult and complicated. It is necessary to go through a long transitional period with many steps and many forms of economic and social organization intertwined, along with a struggle between the old and the new”(7).

Third, in the Document of the 9th National Party Congress, defining the transition to socialism as “skipping the capitalist regime” without completely skipping the capitalist development stage is a big step forward in understanding.

Fourth, understanding of the transitional period to socialism is concretized by each 5-year plan, 10-year strategy and long-term vision. That is also a step forward.

Thirdly, regarding the economy

One of the great achievements of Vietnam in the renovation period is the focus on liberating resources and promoting the strong development of productive forces. Under the motto “economic development is the central task”, we have gradually created a modern economic organization model, suitable for Vietnam’s conditions and global trends, which is the socialist-oriented market economy. This unique innovation has demonstrated its effectiveness in harnessing the advantages of a market economy, particularly by energizing social actors, unlocking development resources, and mitigating market failures in alignment with socialist objectives.

This issue was not explicitly addressed in the theoretical legacy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They focused on the emergence of socialism based on a fully developed capitalist system, where capitalist production relations no longer align with the productive forces and become a destructive factor. By Lenin’s time, in the context of a backward Russia, exploratory efforts led to the introduction of the New Economic Policy.

Reflecting on the pre-renovation period, we see that the centrally-planned economic model itself, although it had its advantages and in fact played an important role in mobilizing social resources to serve the goal of liberating the South and unifying the country, hindered development when maintained for too long. This is one of the factors that caused the prolonged socio-economic crisis. Thereby, we can see that the socialist-oriented market economy is the optimal solution because it meets the 5 requirements mentioned in the article, some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path to Socialism in Vietnam by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. These are: “We need a society in which development is truly for the people, not for profit that exploits and tramples on human dignity. We need economic development coupled with social progress and justice, not an increase in 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, in harmony with nature to ensure a healthy living environment for present and future generations, not to exploit, appropriate resources, consume material goods without limit and even destroy the environment. And, we need a political system where real power belongs to the people, by the people and serves the interests of the people, not just for a wealthy minority”(8).

Another notable step forward in economic thinking has been overcoming subjective and dogmatic tendencies in establishing socialist production relations. While the founders of Marxism - Leninism provided crucial guidance on the transitional period to communism, K. Marx and F. Engels primarily focused on political aspects, leaving limited specific guidance on economic matters. For example, in the work Critique of the Gotha Program, K. Marx emphasized: “Between capitalist and communist society lies a period of revolutionary transformation from one society to the other. Adapting to this period is a period of political transition, and the state in that period cannot be anything other than the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat”(9).

Based on exploratory efforts during the renovation process, the Party has made significant strides in understanding and establishing socialist production relations. Before renovation, the predominant mindset was to immediately establish pure socialist production relations in two forms: state ownership and collective ownership. However, since renovation, a more pragmatic approach has emerged, focusing on diverse production relations suited to varying levels of productive forces. This does not steer the economy towards the capitalist orbit because the principle of state economy and collective economy remains foundational, while the private economy is recognized as an important driving force. This balance has unlocked societal potential and created momentum for national development.

Fourth, regarding the political field

Over the past 40 years, in the political field, progress in understanding and realizing of the path to socialism in Vietnam has focused mainly on the following four aspects:

Firstly, to understand and realize the socialist state model. Building a new type of state - a proletarian state is one of the important tasks that communists need to carry out. However, the specific design and operational principles of such a state were not fully detailed, even by Marx and Engels. This issue was also raised by V. I. Lenin in his work State and Revolution and he himself had to do research to create the Soviet State.

In Vietnam, since 1945, the state was established as the Democratic Republic. In 1976, it was renamed the Socialist Republic. Despite the changes in name, its essence remained that of a proletarian state. In 1991, our Party introduced the Rule-of-law State and in 1994, our Party officially adopted the concept of the Socialist Rule-of-law State of the people, by the people, for the people.

It can be said that the creation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s Rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people is one of the outstanding theoretical breakthroughs of our Party. Herein, the issue is not simply a change of name but a very new perception of essence. Accordingly, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s rule-of-law State reflects more fully and accurately the nature of the state we are building. This state is not just a tool of power for the working class and the people under the leadership of the Party. It is also organized and operates according to the principles of the rule of law. As a result, social democracy is enhanced, human rights and civil rights are safeguarded, and the democratic essence of the socialist state is emphasized.

Secondly, building socialist democracy in Vietnam. Along with the socialist-oriented market economy and the socialist rule-of-law state, socialist democracy forms one of the three key pillars of Vietnam’s regime and is one of the Party’s unique innovations during the renovation period.. he affirmation of the goal to build Vietnamese socialist democracy has deepened the understanding of socialism’s essence. This essence is defined as a democratic society - true democracy, democracy for the majority. Such an understanding provides the foundation for transforming the operations of the State and the entire political system toward democratic methods and objectives. It also helps to clarify the democratic nature of socialism itself.

Thirdly, inheriting and creatively developing Marxism - Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, over the past nearly 40 years, the Party’s understanding of the importance of the strategy of great national unity has also deepened and been realized in practice. Accordingly, great unity is not a temporary political strategy but a long-term strategy. Great unity is a source of strength, and therefore, it must be not only enduring but also comprehensive and broad. Its foundation lies in the alliance between the working class, the peasantry and the intelligentsia. Great national unity under the leadership of the Party, for the supreme interests of the nation – the people, and so on.

Fourthly, on building a revolutionary party and political system. Based on Marxist - Leninist theory and Ho Chi Minh Thought, the Communist Party of Vietnam has consistently prioritized Party-building throughout the revolutionary process, particularly over the past 40 years. The step forward in theoretical understanding has added important contents to the work of Party building. Accordingly, we not only build the Party in terms of ideology, politics and organization but also in terms of ethics.

The basis for the above addition lies in the context of a market economy, globalization, and deep international integration, where cadres and party members are easily affected by the negative impacts of the market economy, leading to degeneration and degradation. This poses a serious risk of the Party losing its integrity and its ability to truly represent the interests of the people, which in turn undermines public trust. The Party recognized and warned of this issue as early as the 7th National Congress. Thus, the inclusion of ethics in Party-building has become an urgent necessity.

In addition, when studying the nature of power, it is shown that political power tends to degenerate. That is, individuals representing public power often abuse their power and exceed their power. Therefore, mechanisms must be implemented to control power, ensuring it genuinely serves the legitimate interests of the people, which is the Party’s ultimate goal and ideal. To realize this requires prioritizing organizational work and personnel management, considering it the “key of all keys”.

In fact, the above principles are being realized, especially in recent Party Congresses. In recent times, our Party has strengthened its control over power in personnel work, thereby, exposing many negative cases, and many cadres and party members, including senior officials who have degraded, have been dealt with. Furthermore, the culture of resignation has begun to take root, marking an important step forward, and so on.

Fifthly, in the cultural field. Socialism is a great cultural cause, with profound cultural content. Thus, it can be said that the national renovation process is a cultural development. Accordingly, along with the comprehensive renewal of perceptions about socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam, our Party has made theoretical advances in this field. The hallmark of renovation began with the 5th Central Conference of the 8th National Party Congress, in which the Party identified the culture we are building as an advanced Vietnamese culture, imbued with national identity. This is a new development step on the basis of the 1943 Outline on Vietnamese culture with three pillars: National - Scientific - Mass. For the first time, we affirmed that culture is the goal, the driving force, the spiritual foundation of society. Thanks to this, cultural values ​​are promoted to serve the development goal.

Accompanying this theoretical progress, cultural construction has been promoted across all dimensions with the principle of embedding culture deeply into every aspect of social life. Moreover, cultural thinking in the context of a market economy has transformed into the policy of building and promoting cultural industry. Thanks to this, culture has increasingly demonstrated its role and position in the renovation process. Culture is no longer the tail of the economy but has become an important driving force for economic development.

Speaking of culture inevitably involves people as the central agents of cultural creation. The Party has deepened its understanding of the importance of linking cultural development with human development. In the 13th National Party Congress Documents, our Party not only emphasized building but also leveraging the role of culture and people to inspire and realize the desire for development. Thanks to these efforts, we have overcome the difficulties of natural disasters, pandemics, as well as the negative impacts of world events to continue moving forward.

Sixthly, regarding the social domain, persistently pursuing the goal of national independence tied to socialism, in the new conditions, the Communist Party of Vietnam advocates synchronous implementation of solutions to develop the country quickly and sustainably. In the social field, the consistent approach has been to avoid pursuing mere economic growth at the expense of social goals, ensuring social progress is integrated into every policy and developmental step. Accordingly, along with creating favorable conditions for economic sectors and social entities to enhance productive relations and business, to enrich themselves legitimately, hunger eradication and poverty reduction have been prioritized as top goals. The Party and the State have mobilized many resources to implement the hunger eradication and poverty reduction program. Thanks to these efforts Vietnam has reduced poverty rates from over 60% in 1990 to less than 3% today, based on the new poverty standards, achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals ahead of schedule.

In this respect, the theoretical achievement in this domain lies in moving away from the mindset of immediately establishing a “pure socialist society” with all the hallmarks of socialism. Instead, it has been replaced by a more pragmatic understanding that the transition to socialism is a long and arduous process. In the short term, Vietnam has affirmed its rejection of any system of oppression or exploitation. However, it acknowledges the continued existence of certain degrees of exploitation and wealth inequality. A society where individuals with abilities and opportunities for economic growth are encouraged while those facing difficulties are supported-under the principle of “leaving no one behind”- accurately reflects the essence of the socialist-oriented market economy and the noble values that socialism aspires to achieve.

Seventhly, as a realistic socialist regime, the path to successfully building this regime needs to be fully, comprehensively recognized and realized. Over the past nearly 40 years, in addition to the main aspects presented above, the Party’s understanding has achieved other significant advancements in areas such as national defense, security, foreign relations, and environmental protection. These insights are being vividly implemented in practice. Below are some key achievements:

Regarding national defense and security, we clearly define that the cause of national construction must be closely linked to the cause of defending the Fatherland and the socialist regime. Therefore, building socialism and defending the socialist Fatherland is a strategic component of the revolution. Alongside economic development as the central task, Party building as the cornerstone, and cultural development as the spiritual foundation, national defense and security are identified as essential and ongoing tasks. Thanks to this approach, Vietnam’s sovereignty and territorial integrity have been firmly maintained, while political security and social order have been ensured, creating a peaceful environment for development.

In terms of foreign affairs, Vietnam has made important achievements. Firstly, transitioning from concern about globalization and international integration to actively and proactively integrating deeply into the international community in all fields. Secondly, metaphysical thinking about foreign affairs has been replaced and upgraded by dialectical thinking, which is most clearly expressed in the perception of partners and objects. Thirdly, in international integration, the ultimate goal has been determined to be national and ethnic interests. Fourthly, proactively expressing the stance of expecting to be reliable friends and partners with countries around the world and being a responsible member of the international community. Fifthly, persistently pursuing an independent, autonomous foreign policy, without military alliances, “not choosing sides” and advocating the resolution of disagreements and disputes by peaceful means on the basis of the United Nations Charter and international law. This policy is crystallized in the diplomatic philosophy of “Vietnamese bamboo diplomacy” that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has summarized.

Regarding the environment, our Party has developed a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of environmental consequences and the necessity of joining the international community to address these challenges. Vietnam has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, a commitment already being implemented through specific programs and State policies.

4. Conclusion

After nearly 40 years of renovation, as a leading and ruling force, our Party has increasingly understood socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam. After examining historical experiences and summarizing the country’s and the era’s realities on the basis of firmly upholding the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, our Party has supplemented, developed, enriched, and deepened many theoretical issues essential to the cause of building socialism. The foundational theoretical framework for Vietnam’s renovation path has taken shape and been realized in practice. This has not only contributed to the significant, historically meaningful achievements of the national renovation process but also helped to supplement and develop Marxism-Leninism in the new context.

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Received: August 08, 2024; Revised: August 08, 2024; Approved for publication: September 05, 2024.

Endnotes:

(1) K. Marx and F. Engels: Complete Works, vol.4, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 1995, p.626.

(2) K. Marx and F. Engels: Complete Works, vol.36, op. cit., p.796.

(3) V.I. Lenin: Complete Works, vol.4, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2005, p.232.

(4) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.11, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p. 97.

(5) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.10, ibid., p. 391.

(6) CPV: Documents of the 11th National Party Congress, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p.69.

(7), (8) 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, 21-22.

(9) K. Marx and F. Engels: Complete Works, vol.19, ibid., p.47.