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[Podcast] Applying Ho Chi Minh’s Ideology on the Role of the People towards Building Socialism in Vietnam Today

26 September, 2024

Keywords: Ho Chi Minh, the people, socialism

Vietnamese people are the subjects to whom President Ho Chi Minh devoted his entire life and revolutionary career so that they can live in independence, freedom, prosperity, and happiness. People are key to the nation’s destiny; therefore, Vietnamese people must be the subjects that fulfill their obligations and enjoy their rights in socialism. Therefore, the goal of building socialism is to build a society in which Vietnamese people are central and the people must exercise their right to manage society.

In the process of national renovation, our Party and Government need to supplement and to perfect the cause of building socialism in Vietnam. The cause of renovation has brought Vietnam to develop in terms of both economic scale and level, and Vietnamese people’s lives have been significantly improved in both materialistically and spiritually. Our country has never had such a foundation, potential, position, and international prestige as it does today. Following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on the role of the people in building the government of the people, by the people, and for the people are important tasks in building socialism. Our Party and Government continue to affirm that “people are the root” and “people are the owner” in the current orientation of building socialism in Vietnam. In the 13th National Congress, the Party identified this as the goal and driving force while clearly demonstrating the dialectical relationship between the cause of building socialism and the people. The fact that the Vietnamese people are placed central, playing the role of the subject, is a new step of development in both theoretical thinking and practical guidance, clearly demonstrated in the socialist development strategy of the nation in the period of globalization and the 4.0 industrial revolution. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology values the role of the people in building socialism in Vietnam today and this is also the guiding principle for all activities of the Party and the Government.

The article was written by the author from University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) based on the perspective and methodology of dialectical and historical materialism of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology and our Party’s views on the role of the people in the cause of building socialism in Vietnam today.

The role of the people in the cause of building socialism in Vietnam

In the world, countries and peoples all find their own path that is suitable to their specific historical characteristics. Socialism in Vietnam is a process of continuous movement and transformation, constantly developing from low to high, from incomplete to more complete. According to the viewpoint of historical materialism, C. Marx said: “I consider the development of socio-economic forms as a natural-historical process”. Following the sequential development or ignoring an outdated socio-economic form, building a more progressive socio-economic form in accordance with the law of development of human society. Therefore, inheriting Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s ideology is one of the decisive factors for the success of building socialism. In the system of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, one core issue is that Ho Chi Minh clearly defined the role of the people in the Vietnamese revolutionary cause. Today, modern capitalism has entered a new stage of financial capitalism associated with globalization, with numerous achievements in liberation, development of productive forces, development of science and technology, and thus high labor productivity. However, capitalism cannot overcome its inherent fundamental contradictions, socio-economic crises, social evils, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, further exposing the nature of the political and social regimes of these countries, which are not for the health and happiness of the majority of the labor people. Social resistance movements have exploded strongly, with new contents and forms in many developed capitalist countries in recent times, further revealing the truth regarding the irresolvable contradictions of the capitalist regime.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology clearly states that in order to develop society, the decisive role belongs to the people, because the people are the subject of history. The people in Ho Chi Minh’s ideology and sentiments are not general or abstract but very specific. They are all the working masses including farmers, workers, intellectuals, soldiers, police, young people, women, children, students, the elderly, compatriots of all ethnic groups, religions, and overseas Vietnamese. Thereby, it clarifies that the concept of people here is not only the working people with two basic classes in society: workers and farmers, but all Vietnamese people “regardless of race, age, gender, religion, class, rich or poor, religion and so on”. Therefore, the people here include all classes of people in the same society, the same historical tradition, the same culture. Therefore, the people are the masters of history and the owners of society.

The people are the owners and masters in the cause of building socialism in Vietnam

In his thoughts, feelings and actions, Ho Chi Minh always consistently expressed the view that revolution is the cause of the people. The people are the masses of the Vietnamese people who participated in the revolution to regain independence for Vietnam. According to him, the people are always clear-sighted, intelligent, and aware of everything in economic and social life. Because the people are everyone in society, the people must be the ones who understand everything; the people are the endless source of strength everywhere, at all times. That is why he believed that the people in the country and the people of all nations in the world are the masters of the destiny of the nation and the era. There is no power comparable to the power of the people. Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on people’s strength was formed on the basis of summarizing the experiences of the Vietnamese revolutionary movements in many countries around the world, especially the national liberation movement in colonial countries. He studied the successes and failures of those movements to draw necessary lessons for the formation of the thought on people’s strength.

Ho Chi Minh pointed out that the Party leads the people to make revolution; on the other hand, revolution is the cause of the masses. Therefore, mass mobilization from the Party must explain to each person clearly that what they do is for their own benefit; consequently, they must enthusiastically do it. He also pointed out that everything must be discussed with the people, asked for their opinions and experiences, together with the people, make practical plans for local circumstances, then mobilize and organize the entire population to implement. The Party must lead the people to rise up to fight for self-liberation and build a new society under their control. That cause can only be realized by the strength of the people. The people are the creators, the subjects, and the makers of history. Ho Chi Minh emphasized that no matter how talented an individual is, he cannot replace the people.

Promoting the people’s ownership in the cause of building socialism in Vietnam

Promoting the people’s owner role was emphasized by Ho Chi Minh by building a great national unity block to promote the people’s strength. According to him, Unity, unity, great unity; Success, success, great success. Because of the viewpoint that unity is a strategy, it ensures all successes of our country’s revolution. Unity must be the top goal and task of our country’s revolution. Unity is occurs within the Party, unity of the whole people, unity of classes, ethnicities, religions and international unity. Unity must truly create material and spiritual strength. Solidarity must be achieved through tight organizations to gather all classes of people such as the forefront, people’s, and socio-political organizations. Solidarity must be based on the common interests of the Party and the nation. Solidarity must be implemented democratically, openly, and fairly. According to Ho Chi Minh, we are not afraid of shortages, only of injustice. We are not afraid of poverty, only of the people’s restlessness, especially towards the Party. Therefore, he asked everyone to respect, build and preserve solidarity as if preserving their eye, as if preserving a treasure, the source of all the Party’s strength. At the same time, we must implement democracy, promote the people’s mastery, and build a Government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.

The people are the goal of the cause of building socialism in Vietnam today

Building socialism means building a society with progressive and humane values for the people and happiness. President Ho Chi Minh once affirmed that building socialism is an extremely glorious cause but also full of difficulties, hardships and long-term. Therefore, it is necessary to have solidarity, persistent and tenacious efforts with a high determination of the people to be able to bring the cause of building socialism in our country to complete victory. Inheriting the ideology of President Ho Chi Minh, our Party and Government in the cause of building socialism put the people in the central position, playing the main role in all strategies for national development. The Party leads the people and considers them the main subjects in the cause of building socialism for the nation; consequently, it must be determined that this is the cause of the people, responding to the people’s aspirations, for the people’s interests, carried out by the people, under the leadership of the Party. Building socialism requires the will, aspirations, determination and spirit of the people; the practical victory of the revolutionary cause in all fields in recent times is a strong proof of the people’s mastery and the cause of building a strong Vietnam is for the people. However, it is necessary to realize that, in the new context of the world economy, it is an important basis to improve the level of all aspects of the people so that the people can improve their mastery capacity. This is also the practical basis for the Party to determine the central position and the main role of the people in all development strategies of the country in the new period. Comprehensive development of all aspects of social life must always thoroughly grasp the view that “people are the root”, and promote the role of mastery, sense of responsibility, creativity and all resources of the people in the spirit of “using people’s talents, people’s strength, people’s property to benefit the people”. We need economic development to go hand in hand with social progress and justice, not to increase the gap between rich and poor and social inequality. We need a humane, united, mutually supportive society towards progressive and humane values, not unfair competition, “big fish swallowing small fish” for the selfishness of a few individuals and groups. We need a political system in which real power belongs to the people, by the people, and serves the interests of the people, not just for a wealthy minority”. Therefore, building socialism means building a society in which development is truly for the people, not for profit that exploits and tramples on human dignity. Building socialism is closely linked to the goal of comprehensive human development in Vietnam today.

Developing society in a humanistic direction, taking people as the center, considering human development – both individuals and communities – as both the highest goal and the greatest driving force of the innovation process in our country. Social development requires increasingly better response to the basic needs in human material and spiritual life. First of all, the needs for food, clothing, housing, transportation, disease prevention and treatment, building a family, raising children and more ensure that people can live as social beings. The above-mentioned needs cannot be satisfied by themselves but must be through human labor to create material wealth. Increasing production and economic development, therefore, play an extremely important role in social development. However, in the end, economic production is only a means, not an end of social development.

President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on the role of the people in building socialism in Vietnam is to link socio-economic development with human development, promote the mastery of the Vietnamese people, that is, to build a society where ‘the people are the masters’, ‘all power and all forces are in the people’; develop the economy to ensure that all people enjoy social welfare values, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty: “Rich people, strong country”, gradually eliminate injustice, eliminate exploitation on the basis of production development, gradually “turn our country from a backward agricultural country into a country with modern industry, and agriculture, advanced science; link economic development with social policy, and with social justice in which “mountainous ethnic groups can catch up with lowland ethnic groups”. They are the major contents and the goals that Vietnam is aiming for in its current sustainable development strategy.

The full-text research article Applying Ho Chi Minh’s Ideology on the Role of the People in Building Socialism in Vietnam Today can be found HERE.

Author: Dr. Bui Xuan Dung – University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City.

This article is part of the series spreading research and applied knowledge from UEH with the message “Research Contribution For All “. UEH cordially invites readers to read the next UEH Research Insights issue.

News, photos: Author group, UEH Department of Marketing and Communication

Audio: Thanh Kieu