An important theoretical basis for the principles of building the renewal path

Assoc.Prof., Dr. LE KIM VIET

1. Introduction

Ho Chi Minh Thought is the concretization of the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism in the specific conditions of Vietnam, as “Marxism-Leninism in Vietnam”. The Charter of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) states: “The Party takes Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought as its ideological foundation and compass for action”. Thus, as the ideological foundation of the Party, Ho Chi Minh Thought, together with Marxism-Leninism, serve as a theoretical basis, playing the role of guiding and orienting all the Party’s political activities. The Party’s platform, guidelines, policies, and activities are built on this theoretical foundation, forming the principles which the Party’s renewal path is built.

2. Ho Chi Minh’s thought is an important theoretical foundation for the principles of building the Party’s renewal policies

The process of forming the Party’s renewal policy is a process of continuous exploration, supplementation, and improvement. However, questions on how to build renewal policies, and what theoretical and practical foundations they should be based on, are unprecedented. At the 7th National Party Congress, our Party determined: “The Party takes Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought as its ideological foundation and compass for action”(1). That is the basis, the core underlying revolutionary leadership and the Party’s construction of renewal renewal policies. Thus, together with Marxism-Leninism, our Party identifies Ho Chi Minh Thought as the ideological foundation, the compass, and the fundamental theoretical basis for the principles behind the development of renewal policies, which is reflected in the following aspects:

Firstly, Ho Chi Minh Thought is the concretization of the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism in the specific conditions of the Vietnamese revolution and is part of the ideological foundation of CPV.

Marxism-Leninism is the most scientific, revolutionary, and progressive doctrine. The principles of Marxism-Leninism reflect the laws of the inevitable and objective movement of human society. Because of its scientific, revolutionary, and progressive values, our Party has determined Marxism-Leninism to be the ideological foundation and compass for the Party’s activities. According to Ho Chi Minh: “If the Party wants to be strong, it must have an ideology as its core; everyone in the Party must understand and follow this ideology. A Party without an ideology is like a person without intelligence or a ship without a compass. Nowadays, there are many doctrines and many ideologies, but the most genuine, most certain, and most revolutionary ideology is Leninism”(2).

The Party affirms: “Ho Chi Minh Thought is a comprehensive and profound system of viewpoints on fundamental issues of the Vietnamese revolution; it is the result of the creative application and development of Marxism-Leninism to the specific conditions of our country, inheriting and developing the fine traditional values of the nation, while absorbing the quintessence of human culture”(3). This is the great and valuable ideological and theoretical heritage of our Party and nation, forever illuminating the revolutionary path toward victory for the our people.

Second, Ho Chi Minh Thought is the crystallization of the quintessence of national cultural values and humanity’s progressive values

Ho Chi Minh Thought is the crystallization and reflection of the good traditional values of the nation and the cultural quintessence of humanity. These are values that are distilled and crystallized from the creative labor of the working people and the experiences of class struggles, between the working classes and the exploiting classes and strata, to liberate humanity and build a better democratic society. These are the crystallization of values formed from the struggles against the old and backward elements to create something new and better.

The renewal process is a revolution aimed at eliminating old and backward practices, overcoming mistakes and shortcomings in the perception, thinking, and leadership activities of the Party and society. It is a process of changing unreasonable policies and mechanisms and breaking down barriers to the development of the country. Therefore, the Party’s renewal policies must reflect the quintessence and noble values of the nation and humanity. Ho Chi Minh Thought results from “inheriting and developing the good traditional values of the nation and absorbing the cultural quintessence of humanity”. As such, it forms the foundation and principles in constructing the Party’s renewal policies.

Thirdly, Ho Chi Minh Thought represents the aspiration of progressive humanity and the Vietnamese people for a better future society and is the foundation for orienting the goals of the renewal process.

Throughout his life, Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh was driven by a singular aspiration: for Vietnam to gain independence, for its people to live in prosperity, freedom, and happiness, in a peaceful nation that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with powerful countries around the world. He said: “I have only one desire, the utmost desire, which is to make our country completely independent, our people completely free, that everyone has food to eat, clothes to wear, and access to education”(4).

The goal of the renewal is to make the people rich, the country strong, the society fair, democratic, civilized, and so on. Thus, the goal of the renewal is to apply and develop Ho Chi Minh Thought, unified, and consistent with the aspirations of progressive humanity, the aspirations of the Vietnamese people, and the requirements and development trends of the country. Therefore, determining the principles in the renewal policy shall be thoroughly understood and based on the foundation of Ho Chi Minh Thought, ensuring alignment between Ho Chi Minh Thought and the goals, requirements, and content of the renewal policy.

Fourthly, Ho Chi Minh’s thought as dialectical thinking, reflecting the inevitable development law of society and revolutionary practice in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh Thought is the inheritance and absorption of the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism, which are concretized to suit the Vietnamese revolution. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh Thought embodies dialectical thinking, reflecting the laws of societal development and the revolutionary path in Vietnam. The dialectical nature of Ho Chi Minh Thought is expressed in the fact that Ho Chi Minh Thought is not dogmatic, mechanical, or stereotyped. Rather it combines the universal - the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism and the cultural essence of humanity - with the specific and particular aspects of Vietnamese society.

The dialectical nature of Ho Chi Minh Thought also reflects the inevitable objective laws governing Vietnamese society and the Vietnamese revolution. He pointed out the inevitable path of the Vietnamese revolution: Completing the people’s national democratic revolution, building a new democratic regime, advancing towards socialism, and ultimately reaching communism. This is the inevitable trajectory of human society as mapped out by C. Marx, F. Engels, and V.I. Lenin.

The renewal process reflects the inevitable movement and development of Vietnam. This process must be oriented and led by a scientific and progressive revolutionary path, with a solid theoretical foundation, in accordance with the laws of human societal progress and reflecting the aspirations of the majority of the people. This path can only be built on the fundamental theoretical foundation of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought.

3. Principles for building the Party’s renewal path according to Ho Chi Minh Thought and its values

Firstly, the Party’s renewal policy must ensure the principles of inheritance and development, aligned with objective laws.

All things and phenomena in social life always move and develop according to certain laws. These are laws of inheritance and development.

Ho Chi Minh Thought belongs to the superstructure. In the process of formation and development, Ho Chi Minh Thought is the product of high-level inheritance, embodying the good traditional values of the nation, the quintessence of human culture, and the progressive, revolutionary, and scientific values of Marxism-Leninism.

However, in Ho Chi Minh Thought embraces inheritance with creativity rather than mechanical imitation. It adds and enriches Marxist-Leninist theory regarding the founding of the Party, class struggle, revolutionary forces, national solidarity, and more, adapting it to the unique characteristics of Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh Thought also reflects the characteristics of development in accordance with the laws of movement in human society. It is his perception, thinking, selection and distillation of the most quintessential values in the theory of Marxism-Leninism, creatively applied to suit the specific realities of the Vietnamese revolution.

Thus, in the construction of the Party’s renewal policies, there must be both inheritance and development. This means inheriting without rigid or dogmatic imitation, while also supplementing and developing renewal theories that align with objective laws, avoiding arbitrary or impatient actions rooted in subjectivity or willfulness. This forms the theoretical basis of the principles in the process of building the Party’s renewal policies. This is the lesson that the 6th National Party Congress drew: “The Party must always start from reality, respect, and act subjectively according to objective laws”(5). The close combination of inheritance and creative development, consistent with objective laws according to Ho Chi Minh Thought, is a key factor in ensuring the success of the renewal process.

Secondly, building the renewal path must ensure the principle of steadfastness in pursuing revolutionary goals, while simultaneously creatively applying and developing the principles of Marxism-Leninism in accordance with the reality of the Vietnamese revolution.

One of the greatest values and enduring strengths of Ho Chi Minh Thought is its steadfastness in the principles of Marxism-Leninism, alongside the creative adaptation to the specific reality of the Vietnamese revolution.

First of all, Ho Chi Minh remained steadfast in the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism and the goals of the Vietnamese revolution. From the beginning, he affirmed: Now there are many doctrines, many isms, but the most genuine, most certain, most revolutionary is Leninism”. Because according to him: “The theory of Marxism-Leninism is the summary of the experience of the workers’ movement up to now in all countries of the world. It is the science of the laws of natural and social development; the science of the revolution for the oppressed and exploited masses; the science of socialist victory in all countries; and the science of building communism”(6).

Regarding the Vietnamese revolution, his goals were very clear: “national independence, civil rights, freedom, and people’s happiness”. He also said: “I have only one desire, an ultimate desire, which is to make our country completely independent, our people completely free, everyone has food to eat, clothes to wear, and access to education”(7). His entire life of revolutionary activities was loyal and devoted to this noble goal. These are very important ideas that guide the path of the Vietnamese revolution.

In Ho Chi Minh Thought, steadfastness does not mean conservative, dogmatic, rigid, or mechanical; instead it involves the creative application and development in accordance with the reality of the Vietnamese revolution. He always advised cadres and party members: “We must improve our cultivation of Marxism-Leninism. using its principles, viewpoints, and methods to summarize the our Party’s experiences and correctly analyze the characteristics of our country. Only then can we gradually understand the developmental laws of the Vietnamese revolution, and determine the specific guidelines, principles, and steps of the socialist revolution that align with our country’s situation”(8).

Based on President Ho Chi Minh’s views, the formulation of the Party’s renewal policy must ensure the principle of both steadfastness and creative development. This means remaining steadfast in the basic principles of Marxist-Leninist theory and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, and steadfast in the goals of national independence and socialism. Simultaneously, it necessitates creative development to suit the actual conditions of the country, the new global context and the general trend of the times. Our Party has consistently affirmed a guiding principle: “Renewal without changing colors”; “Integration without dissolution”. In the face of many complicated global developments, the Party remains steadfast in the viewpoint of its “four-no” stance in foreign policy, demonstrating its steadfastness, consistency and creative development of the Party’s renewal policy.

Thanks to a profound understanding and harmoniously resolving the relationship between perseverance and creative development, in accordance with the new context and conditions, our country’s renewal has achieved great successes as seen today.

Thirdly, the Party’s renewal policy must ensure alignment between theory and practice according to Ho Chi Minh Thought.

Linking theory with practice is one of the fundamental perspectives and a hallmark of Ho Chi Minh’s leadership and working style. He always demonstrated the exemplary combination of words and deeds, theory with practice. He always advised cadres and party members: Study must go hand-in-hand with practice, and theory must be linked to practice. He emphasized: “The unity of theory and practice are a fundamental principle of Marxism-Leninism. Practice without theory becomes blind practice. Theory without practice is empty theory. Therefore, while emphasizing the importance of theory, etc., communists in all countries must adapt Marxism-Leninism to suit the conditions and circumstances of each time and place”(9).

Based on these fundamental views and ideas, one of the principles for building the renewal policy must be the close combination between theory and practice. Applying theory to practice, linking theory with practice following Ho Chi Minh Thought and developing theory to suit the context and specific conditions of practice is an objective and inevitable requirement of the ruling Party in the renewal process. This is a necessary condition to ensure that the Party’s renewal policies become reality.

Fourthly, the Party’s renewal policy must ensure the principle of strengthening the Party’s leadership role, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the State’s operations, and maintaining the socialist orientation.

President Ho Chi Minh always emphasized the leadership role of the Party and always prioritized Party building. He affirmed: “Only with the Party’s leadership can revolution and resistance achieve victory, and national construction succeed”(10).

The historical reality of the Vietnamese revolution affirms that the Party’s leadership is an objective requirement and a decisive factor for every victory in Vietnam’s revolutionary cause. It is also a vital condition ensuring that the renewal cause renewaladvances along the socialist orientation and achieves victory. From the early years of renewal, when determining the principles for building the renewal policy, at the 6th Central Conference of the 6th term (March 1989), our Party affirmed: “The Party’s leadership is an objective requirement, a vital condition to ensure that the cause of our people’s socialist revolution achieves victory. We must fight against and criticize the tendencies to deny or belittle the Party’s leadership, and at the same time, we must listen to and accept honest opinions criticizing the Party’s leadership and the Party-building efforts”(11).

Our Party also emphasizes the principle: Renewal in the organization and methods of operation within the political system aims to strengthen the Party’s leadership role, the State’s management effectiveness, and the people’s right to mastery. This means enhancing the strength and effectiveness of the proletarian rule, making the organizations in the political system operate more dynamically and effectively.

Therefore, building the renewal policies must adhere the principle of strengthening the leadership role of the Party, the effectiveness of the State’s management, promoting the people’s mastery, enhancing the strength and efficiency of the political system, and building increasingly strong organizations in the political system. The content of the renewal policy must maintain the socialist orientation, make socialist elements increasingly realized in our country. This is the basic condition to ensure the victory of the renewal process.

4. Conclusion

Looking back on nearly 40 years of renewal, our country has achieved tremendous achievements. The 13th National Party Congress assessed: “Our country has never had such a foundation, potential, position and international prestige as today”. These achievements and our progress are due to the Party’s steadfast adherence to the ideological foundations of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought in building and implementing renewal policies. These foundations provide the most solid theoretical basis, ensuring the success of the renewal process.

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Received: May 21, 2024; Reviewed: July 17, 2024; Approved for publication: July 24, 2024.

Endnotes:

(1) Communist Party of Vietnam: Complete Party Documents, vol.5, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2006, p.29.

(2) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.2, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p.289.

(3) CPV: Complete Party Documents, vol.60, op.cit., p.130.

(4) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.15, ibid., p.627.

(5) CPV: Complete Party Documents, vol.47, op.cit., p. 363.

(6), (8), (9) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.11, ibid., p.96, 92, 95.

(7) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.4, ibid., p.187.

(10) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.8, ibid., p.273.

(11) CPV: Complete Party Documents, vol.49, op.cit., p.541.