Communist Party USA
On the occasion of the 131st birthday of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19) and the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and all-level People’s Councils 2021–26 (May 23), Professor and Dr. Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), has written an article titled “A Number of Theoretical and Practical Issues on Socialism and the Path towards Socialism in Vietnam.” Below is the full text of the article. Socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam is a truly fundamental theoretical and practical topic of great importance. It covers a broad array of diverse and complex issues under various approaches, and requires both painstaking and serious investigation, and a deep and scientific stocktaking of practice. Within the scope of this writing, I would like to touch upon some aspects from Vietnam’s practical perspective. I will focus on answering the following questions: What is socialism? Why did Vietnam choose the socialist path? How to gradually build socialism in Vietnam? How significant have the “Doi Moi” (Renewal) and the building of socialism been in Vietnam over the past years? And what are the issues facing this process? As we are well aware, socialism is usually understood in three aspects: socialism as a doctrine, socialism as a movement, and socialism as a polity. Each aspect has different manifestations, depending on the world outlook and development level in a specific historical period. The socialism as referred to in this writing is a scientific socialism, based on Marxism-Leninism in the world today. How, then, shall we define socialism and chart the course towards socialism, in a manner suitable to the particular conditions and characteristics in Vietnam? Previously, while the Soviet Union and its constellation of socialist countries existed in the world, the question of advancing towards socialism in Vietnam seemed beyond doubt and implicitly validated. However, after the collapse of the socialist model in the Soviet Union and many other Eastern European countries and the decline of the world revolution, the advancement towards socialism was once again put into question and became the topic for every discussion, even drawing heated debate. Anticommunism and political opportunists rejoiced and seized that opportunity to spread misinformation and subvert the movement. Within the revolutionary rank, there are also those who wallowed in pessimism and faltered. Some began to doubt the correctness and science of socialism and blamed the dissolution of the Soviet Union on the errors of Marxism-Leninism and the choice of socialism as the way forward. From this premise, they believe we have chosen the wrong way and must march on another path. Some echoed the hostile arguments, disparaged and criticized socialism, and indulged in one-sided praise of capitalism. Some even claimed “repentance” for having had faith in Marxism-Leninism and socialism. But is this the truth? Is it true that capitalism today, including those long-standing capitalist countries, are still growing well? Has Vietnam chosen the wrong way? We concur that capitalism has never been more global as it is today, and has achieved immense accomplishments, especially in liberating and developing the productive capacity and advancing science and technology. Many developed capitalist countries, building on their advanced economic foundation, and also thanks to the struggle of the working class and working people, have made adjustments and set up considerable social welfare schemes that are more progressive than before. Since the mid-1970s, and particularly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, international capitalism spared no effort to adjust itself and promoted neoliberalism at the global scale in order to adapt to new conditions. For this reason, it is…
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Vietnam’s path to socialism: Theoretical and practical issues