Inheriting the achievements of human civilization to build socialism in Vietnam should be implemented on the basis of ensuring the leadership of the Party and the management of the Vietnamese law-ruled Socialist State - Photo: IT

In his book titled “Some Theoretical and Practical Issues on Socialism and the Path to Socialism in Vietnam”, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made the following point: “To say that Vietnam ‘bypasses the stage of capitalism’ means that the country bypasses a regime of oppression, inequality, and capitalist exploitation, as well as harmful practices and political institutions and arrangements that are unsuitable in a socialist system. However, this does not mean that we should reject the accomplishments and values of civilization that mankind has achieved throughout the development of capitalism. Naturally, these achievements should be selectively adapted through the lens of science and development”⁽¹⁾.

This important theoretical and practical issue demonstrates not only loyalty and consistency but also the creative application and development of Marxism - Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, meeting the objective requirements and demands of the current reform work and the ongoing cause of building socialism in Vietnam. As a result, it is crucial to clearly define the theoretical and practical foundations and gain a thorough and in-depth comprehension of what it means to inherit the achievements of human civilization in building socialism in Vietnam today.

1. Theoretical and practical bases for inheriting human civilization’s achievements in building socialism in Vietnam

In respect of theory:

Inheritance is a regular issue in the movement and development of human history. The classics of Marxism - Leninism and President Ho Chi Minh have given us clear and distinctive views and theoretical explanations on inheriting the achievements of human civilization in building socialism.

In the opening sentences of his Socialism: Scientific and Utopian, Friedrich Engels wrote: “Like every new theory, modern Socialism had, at first, to connect itself with the intellectual stock-in-trade ready to its hand, however deeply its roots lay in material economic facts”⁽²⁾. Scientific socialism theory is not only a reflection of the contradictions, requirements, conditions, and movement trends of the great capitalist industry and the modern working class’s struggle against the bourgeoisie, but it is also, first and foremost, the acquisition, inheritance, and development of the ideological and cultural quintessential values that humanity has achieved in the fields of natural sciences, social science and humanities under capitalism, of which the most outstanding are Classical German Philosophy, British Classical Political Economy, and Critical-Utopian Socialism of England and France.

Marxism - Leninism, or scientific socialism, is a scientific theoretical system that argues for the inevitable replacement of capitalism with socialism and communism. According to the content of the socialist theory and the path to socialism, the classics of Marxism - Leninism were not only interested in the argumentations about the inherent limitations and defects of capitalism, as well as the issue of destroying, negating, and overthrowing it, but also clarified the historical role and status of capitalism. They particularly emphasized the need to inherit the achievements of human civilization, especially those made under capitalism, in order to successfully build socialism.

By posing problems in a naturalist way and thoroughly applying materialistic and theoretical dialectics of development, Marx, Engels, and V.I. Lenin always considered socialism and communism as “something that developed from capitalism”⁽³⁾, and so on.

When newly born from capitalism, socialism still retains some traces, pieces, components, and parts of capitalism in all spheres of social life; at the same time, the proactive and self-conscious inheritance of capitalist achievements was also defined as an indispensable condition for the victory of socialism.

The typical points made by the classics on this issue are: “Under communism, there remains, for a certain time, not only bourgeois law but even the bourgeois state, without the bourgeoisie”⁽⁴⁾;  “Capitalism has left us a great legacy, including many excellent professionals whom we must employ at all costs and on a large scale”⁽⁵⁾;  “You can become a Communist only when you enrich your mind with a knowledge of all the treasures created by mankind”⁽⁶⁾;  “Proletarian culture shall be the logical development of the store of knowledge that mankind has accumulated under the yoke of capitalist society, landowner society and bureaucratic society”⁽⁷⁾;  “Only those who understand that it is impossible to create or introduce socialism without learning from the organizers of the trusts are worthy of the name of Communists”⁽⁸⁾; “Take with both hands the good of foreign lands: Soviet government + Prussian railway administration + technology and organization of American trusts + American mass education = S = Socialism”⁽⁹⁾; “Let’s dispatch some qualified and dedicated people to England or Germany to collect information and study the situation. I suggest the United Kingdom as an alternative, just in case we can’t make it to the United States or Canada”⁽¹⁰⁾, and so on.

As an outstanding disciple of Marx, Engels, and V.I. Lenin, President Ho Chi Minh is a vivid embodiment of collecting, absorbing, and developing the quintessence of his own nation and humankind, as well as the East and the West. To find the right path to liberate and develop the Vietnamese people and country, he traveled across five continents and four seas, studying and experiencing a variety of theories and doctrines as well as summarizing and analyzing the revolutionary histories of many countries, particularly the United States, France, and Russia. He left our entire Party and people an invaluable legacy: his life and illustrious career, his shining exemplary moral compass and lifestyle, a glorious era, and a comprehensive and profound system of Ho Chi Minh Thought. This system consists of the ideas that the Vietnamese revolution is an integral part of the world revolution, the concept of the combination of national and epochal strength, domestic and international forces, and the principle of absorbing experience and inheriting the achievements of human civilization, including those made under capitalism.

The Declaration of Independence on the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which was drafted and read by Ho Chi Minh in Ba Dinh Square on September 2, 1945, was also a collection and crystallization of immortal words and universal values drawn from the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of Human and Civil Rights. Following the successful seizure of power and the declaration of independence, President Ho Chi Minh and the new Vietnamese State advocated a willingness to establish cooperative relations with democratic countries, including capitalist powers, without creating hostility towards any nation⁽¹¹⁾, to receive investment from foreign capitalists and technical entities in all industries, to employ the contingents of Vietnamese experts and intellectuals who have studied and lived in capitalist countries, to build good relationships with Communist Parties in capitalist countries, especially the French Communist Party, to enlist the support and help of democratic and progressive forces around the world in order to successfully fight against invaders, construct the country, and build socialism in Vietnam, and make a worthy contribution to the world revolutionary movement, etc.

In respect of practice:

Since the victory of the Russian October Revolution in 1917, realisticeal Socialism has experienced more than 100 years of ups and downs around the world. The world socialist revolutionary process has revealed that the fortunes of Real Socialism are tied to the recognition and resolution of the relationship between socialism and capitalism, as well as the civilizational achievements of humanity under capitalism.

Reality has shown that realistic Socialism can attain stability, dynamism, and development when communist parties and socialist states proactively exchange, cooperate, selectively adopt, and creatively integrate the achievements of human civilization attained under capitalism while also waging a fierce struggle against it.

In contrast, if we abandon the teachings of the classics and view the struggle as absolute, competing with the enemy in a winner-takes-all manner, and either actively or passively executing a policy of national seclusion, separating ourselves from the capitalist world, or mechanically and indiscriminately cooperating, exchanging, inheriting, copying, and learning from capitalist experiences, real Socialism will become more difficult, sluggish, and sclerotic to implement, which may even lead the revolution to crisis and failure.

On the capitalist side, there have been certain changes in the past century. Capitalism, because of its inherent nature, remains an oppressive, exploitative, and unjust system. The inherent contradictions within the capitalist world continue to manifest through economic, political, and social crises on various levels and at various scales. However, reality has shown that capitalism, to a certain extent, still has the potential for improvement and possesses the ability to self-adjust for the sake of stabilization, adaptation, and development. Accordingly, some capitalist countries have made significant progress in their economies, technologies, cultures, politics, and societies. This progress is not only the result of generations of struggle by the working class and the toiling peoples under capitalism but also the result of political parties and bourgeois states not only seeking to destroy and transform socialism and the movements of communists and international workers, but also attaching great importance to the cooperation, reference, use, and inheritance of historical values and the economic, social, and political achievements of real socialism.

Throughout the millennia of Vietnamese history, the process of building and defending the country has also involved brilliant and brave cultural exchanges and acculturation. The historical process of integrating ethnic cultures and engaging in cultural exchange and acculturation (including political culture) with Southeast Asian cultures, Chinese cultures, Indian cultures, Western cultures, and so on, has resulted in the formation of a united Vietnamese country, nation, and culture, which represent the convergence of their diversities.

In modern history, the Communist Party of Vietnam, following the path of national democratic revolution leading towards socialist revolution under the banner of national independence and socialism based on Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, has always viewed the Vietnamese revolution as part and parcel of the global revolution. Simultaneously, the Party has also placed great importance on combining national strength and epochal power; implementing independence, autonomy, self-reliance, and self-development; enlisting the support and aid from international friends; as well as inheriting and absorbing humanity’s cultural essence; and boldly referring to and creatively applying the experiences of brother countries. As a result, the Vietnamese revolution has overcome numerous hardships and challenges and gained tremendous victories, notably the major and historically significant successes of the reform process since 1986, constantly elevating our country’s potential, position, and prestige on the international stage.

However, in fact, in the face of the complex impacts of the era, there were times when our Party, State, and people encountered many difficulties in expanding cooperation and exchanges with the world, especially during the Cold War and when capitalist and imperialist forces used hostile, siege, and embargo policies against our country. At the same time, during the course of the revolution and even during the renovation work, in addition to the basic achievements, the reference to, the application, and inheritance of international experiences in the fields of social life have also revealed limitations and inadequacies, including but not limited to excessive reluctance and caution, mechanical stereotyping and copying, as well as haste and a lack of discrimination, which did not take into account the specific conditions and circumstances of the country.

Currently, as our country increasingly integrates into the region and the world, there is a pressing need to inherit human civilization achievements, as well as refer to and utilize international experiences to successfully build socialism in Vietnam. This issue is again urgently put forth and has been emphasized by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in his book “Some theoretical and practical issues about socialism and the path towards socialism in Vietnam,” which requires us to study, clarify, and identify the principles, orientations, and the fundamental, sound, and appropriate solutions.

2. Orientations and solutions to inherit the achievements of human civilization in building socialism in Vietnam

Orientations:

Firstly, inheriting human civilization achievements to build socialism in Vietnam must stem from the practical needs of the renovation and socialist construction works in Vietnam, as associated with the inheritance and promotion of our ancestors’ experiences, the good traditional values of the people⁽¹²⁾, and on the methodological basis of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought. Inheriting the achievements of human civilization shall be based on the steadfast national independence associated with socialism, taking the common interests of the people and the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland as purposes, criteria, and standards. In other words, it is necessary to criticize and avoid introducing those that are harmful to the people and the Fatherland while making every effort to refer to, inherit, learn from, and apply those that are beneficial to the people, the country, and the renovation and socialist construction works in Vietnam, in line with the goals of a wealthy people, a strong nation, and a democratic, equitable, and civilized society. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has stressed: “The inheritance of these achievements shall be selective through the lens of science and development”⁽¹³⁾ “in order to ensure both adherence to general principles and suitability to Vietnam’s specific conditions”⁽¹⁴⁾.

Secondly, the achievements of human civilization include both the successes and historical values of the world’s real socialism as well as the massive and diverse accomplishments of modern capitalism. While our country has deep and extensive cooperative relations with the majority of the world’s countries and territories, it is necessary and possible to study, consult, and inherit many human civilizational values in order to serve the renovation work and the cause of building socialism in our country in many ways and in many aspects and fields, ranging from economics, politics, culture, society, ideology, institutional and organizational models, technologies and techniques, etc.

The objects and values that we need to study, refer to, select, inherit, and apply can be derived from the East and the West, from developed and developing countries, from countries with many similarities in politics, culture, and development level or from countries with differences in political institutions, culture, socio-economic development level, and so on. However, the study, reference, and inheritance shall have a focus, a centerpiece, stemming from the requirements and demands of the renovation work and the cause of building socialism in our country, rather than being conducted in a rampant and arbitrary manner.

Thirdly, inheriting the achievements of human civilization to build socialism in Vietnam should be implemented on the basis of ensuring the leadership of the Party and the management of the Vietnamese law-ruled Socialist State. Studying, consulting, inheriting, selecting, and applying the achievements of human civilization to build socialism is a complicated task. It is not only a theoretical and scientific matter but also an important practical political issue related to the survival of the Party and the socialist regime. It is critical not to be impatient or hasty, or to hesitate or be conservative. Therefore, this task shall be promoted, facilitated, organized, led, oriented, and managed in a methodical and strict manner in accordance with the regulations of the Party and the laws of the State.

Of course, the Party’s regulations and the State’s laws are capable of not only preventing deviations and wrongdoing but also protecting organizations and individuals who dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, dare to take responsibilities, dare to innovate, dare to face difficulties and challenges, and dare to act for the common good, for the goals of a wealthy people, a strong nation, and a democratic, equitable, and civilized society.

Solutions:

Firstly, it is essential to raise awareness among cadres, party members, and the general public about the role and principles for inheriting human civilization’s achievements in building socialism in Vietnam today. Inheriting human civilization’s achievements in the construction of socialism is a regular issue supported by solid scientific methodology and practical bases.  K.Marx, F.Engels, V.I.Lenin, and President Ho Chi Minh have left us with a rich and profound legacy of thoughts and theories on this issue. Practical experiences, including those of real socialism around the world and socialist construction in Vietnam, have confirmed that inheriting the achievements of human civilization in socialist construction is an inevitable requirement and task that shall be carried out carefully and methodically in accordance with certain principles.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has affirmed that one of the traditions of our Party is to “maintain independence and self-reliance on the guidelines; master, apply, and creatively develop Marxism - Leninism; refer to international experiences to set forth the right guidelines; and organize the effective implementation of revolutionary tasks”⁽¹⁵⁾. Accordingly, it is the responsibility of all cadres, party members, and the entire political system, as well as the responsibility, obligation, and right of the people’s classes, to promote that tradition of our Party.

Political theory education in the systems of cadre training and nurturing schools, national education, as well as press and media, plays a particularly important role in inheriting the achievements of human civilization for the renovation work and the cause of socialist construction in the country.

Secondly, it is crucial to place emphasis on summarizing practical experiences, studying relevant theories, forecasting trends in the contemporary world, and researching and learning from the experiences of advanced countries. We should selectively inherit the achievements of modern capitalism, including the theories, models, institutions, techniques, and technologies used to organize, manage, and operate the economy, politics, culture, and society - particularly those that have shown dynamic, creative, and effective development⁽¹⁶⁾. At the same time, it is essential to study and consult the historical experiences of the international Communist and workers’ movements, the achievements of real socialism, and the current experiences of our fellow socialist countries in reform, opening up, renovation, and development. Only on the foundation of adequate, elaborate, and profound research will there be sufficient grounds for criticism, reference, selection, inheritance, and application. On that basis, it is necessary to comply with the requirements and goals of perfecting and actualizing the theories on the renovation guidelines, socialism, and the road towards socialism in Vietnam, with a focus on building and developing a modern socialist-oriented market economy, constructing and perfecting the law-ruled socialist State, promoting the strength of the great bloc of national unity and socialist democracy, improving the leadership and ruling capacity of the Party, boosting the industrialization and modernization of the country, developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity, implementing and managing the sustainable and harmonious development of the society, etc. Given such content and requirements, a vast creative horizon and a very good development opportunity are obviously opening up to the country’s theorists⁽¹⁷⁾.

Thirdly, inheriting the achievements of human civilization in Vietnam’s current socialist construction includes and is linked to increasing vigilance and criticism of deviant and depraved manifestations in politics, ideology, morality, and lifestyle, as well as the intra-party signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation,” and fighting against and refuting wrong and hostile views and behaviors.  Besides, it is also essential to avoid blackening, making one-sided comments, denying the historical achievements and values of the Soviet Union and real socialism prior to 1991, biasedly praising the accomplishments of capitalism, or mechanically copying and indiscriminately inheriting the experiences, institutions, and policies of capitalism.

Fourthly, it is necessary to integrate into the world proactively, actively, comprehensively, and intensively; to combine national strength with epochal power; to implement the foreign policy line of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, and development as well as the foreign policy of diversification and multilateralization of international relations; to ensure the highest interests of the people and nation based on the fundamental principles of international law, equality, cooperation, and the mutual benefit for the solid construction and defense of the Socialist Vietnam Fatherland; to ensure that Vietnam is truly a friend, a reliable partner, and an active and responsible member of the international community, making worthy contributions to the region and to the world. This is one of the basic solutions, methods, concerns, tasks, and objectives of inheriting the achievements of human civilization in reforming, developing, and building socialism in Vietnam today.

Fifthly, it is critical to place a high value on building contingents of cadres at all levels, branches, and fields who possess sufficient competence, qualification, and bravery to work in an environment of intensive international integration for the goals of a wealthy people, a strong nation, and a democratic, equitable, and civilized society.

Leading and managerial cadres, particularly those at the strategic level, shall have a profound understanding of national culture and history, as well as a firm and thorough grasp of both the theory and practice of the country and era; fully and comprehensively understand Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, and theories on the renovation guidelines, socialism, and the path towards socialism in Vietnam; master the policies and laws of the State; and have sufficient competence, qualification, and bravery to work in an environment of intensive international integration; dare to think, to speak, to do, to take responsibility, to innovate creatively, to cope with difficulties and challenges, as well as to act for the common good and the goals of a wealthy people, a strong nation, and a democratic, equitable, and civilized society.

This is a vital solution because the quality and effectiveness of inheriting the achievements of human civilization to build socialism in Vietnam depends not only on the mechanisms and policies of the Party and the State but, first and foremost, on human factors, especially the competence, quality, qualification, and bravery of leading and managerial contingents at the strategic level.

__________________

Received: December 13, 2022; Revised: January 7, 2023; Approved for publication: January 27, 2023.

Endnotes:

(1), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17) Nguyen Phu Trong: Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path towards socialism in Vietnam, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2022, p. 25, 25, 23, 208-209, 279-280, 279.

(2) K. Marx and F. Engels: The Complete Works, vol. 20, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2002, p. 30.

(3), (4) V.I.Lenin: The Complete Works, vol. 33, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2005, p. 121, 121.

(5) V.I.Lenin: The Complete Works, vol. 37, ibid., p. 493.

(6), (7) V.I.Lenin: The Complete Works, vol. 41, ibid., p. 362, 361.

(8), (9) V.I.Lenin: The Complete Works, vol. 36, ibid., p. 382, 684.

(10) V.I.Lenin: The Complete Works, vol. 45, ibid., p. 449.

(11) Ho Chi Minh: The Complete Works, vol. 5, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p. 256.

(12) As cited in: Le Van Loi: Inheriting and promoting the traditional values of the nation in building and perfecting the theories of renovation guidelines in Vietnam today, Political Theory Journal, No. 5-2022.

PROF., DR. LE VAN LOI

Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics