Hồ Chí Minh and the Cause of Constructing the Good Life in Vietnam

President Hồ Chí Minh, the great leader of the Vietnamese Revolution, has been recognized by UNESCO as a hero of national liberation and a great man of culture. Throughout his life, Hồ Chí Minh devoted himself to the cause of national liberation and the struggle for people’s happiness. He knew how to absorb the quintessence of different cultures from both East and West.

Hồ Chí Minh wrote that “the doctrine of Confucius has its strong point in personal moral cultivation. The religion of Jesus has its strong point in noble humanity. Marxism has its strong point in the dialectical method. The doctrine of Sun Yat‑sen has its strong point in the fact that its principles are suitable to Vietnam’s conditions. Undoubtedly, Confucius, Jesus, Marx and Sun Yat‑sen shared the same virtue. They all pursue to happiness for mankind and society. I believe that if they had remained alive till now, they would have lived in complete concord as the closest friends. I strive to be their humble pupil” ⁽¹⁾.

In reality, Hồ Chí Minh absorbed selectively valuable thoughts and the quintessence of different doctrines to pursue “felicity for humanity.” He acquired not only Confucian, Christian and Marxist thoughts but also those of Buddhism and Bourgeois ideology. He praised the French and American Revolutions, he approached Abraham Lincoln’s ideas and valued the patriotism in Caodaism and Hoahaoism. For example, he remarked that “The Buddha has a great compassion for people, who wants to liberate people from suffering. He sacrificed himself in the struggle against evil forces… We follow Shakyamuni Buddha’s great compassion”⁽²⁾.

Hồ Chí Minh did not simply absorb valuable thoughts from various doctrines, but he developed and applied them creatively to the historical conditions of Vietnam. Therefore, we can affirm that Hồ Chí Minh acquired his values from both the cultural tradition of Vietnam and the cultures of progressive humanity and further developed them to a new level, with a distinct identity. It can be seen in the way he creatively absorbed the thoughts of Confucius, Jesus, Marx, Sun Yat‑sen, and many others.

Hồ Chí Minh realized that among Christianity, Confucianism and Buddhism there existed a commonality of ethics, compassion and love. Such elements should be inherited and acquired. As he said, the doctrine of Confucius has its strong point in personal moral cultivation. Christianity has its strong point in noble humanity. Jesus asked his followers to “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to them who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” He also taught them not to be greedy, but to lead a pure life and be ready to give when asked. Hồ Chí Minh stressed that “we are all inspired by a spirit. Confucian philosophy and Western philosophy both praise the same ethical principle: that ‘What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others”⁽³⁾. “Jesus said that morality is philanthropy. Buddha taught that morality is compassion. Confucius said and taught that morality is benevolence and righteousness” ⁽⁴⁾.

Hồ Chí Minh not only acquired the rational elements of Confucianism, Christianity and Buddhism but also pointed out the drawbacks of these doctrines. In 1927, he wrote “Confucianism relies on three kinds of obedience: ruler and minister, father and son, husband and wife and five cardinal virtues of benevolence, righteousness, proprieties, wisdom and fidelity. Confucius wrote “Spring and Autumn annals” in order to criticize “rebellious subjects” and “bad children” but he did not write any work to condemn the evil deeds and crimes of “wicked fathers” and “short-sighted princes.” Thus, he spoke for the exploiters and against the oppressed... If Confucius had been alive now, he would have been a counter-revolutionary agent”(5).

He used many Confucian concepts but added very new contents to them to make them familiar and applicable to the conditions of Vietnam. In this way, he renovated and transformed many Confucian concepts by giving them a revolutionary and modern content.

The fundamental difference between Hồ Chí Minh’s thought and some religious teachings consists in the fact that Hồ Chí Minh not only acquired the humane elements of all religious teachings but also included what to do and how to act in order to liberate people from their real suffering. He always pondered over how to emancipate the nation, society and the people. His biggest concern and greatest yearning were to make the nation completely independent, the people entirely free and bring well-being and education to all people. Hồ Chí Minh came to Marxism-Leninism and highly valued Sun Yat‑sen’s three principles of people because he found in them the way to liberate the nation and the people of Vietnam.

Hồ Chí Minh found in Marxism its dialectical approach. He affirmed that the Marxist dialectical method is a scientific world view and a revolutionary weapon that could bring felicity for humanity. The method helped him to apply universal principles in concrete conditions and circumstances. All kinds of dogmas and mechanical thinkings are alien to the dialectical method. He pointed out that “Marx built his teachings on the foundation of a certain philosophy of history, but which history? The European history. What is Europe? It is not the whole humanity”⁽⁶⁾.

Thanks to the dialectical method of Marxism, Hồ Chí Minh was able to skillfully define the relationship between the particular and the universal, the nation and humanity, tradition and modernity, individuals and society, theory and practice in the process of development. He realized the unity between theory and practice as the basic principle of the Marxist dialectical method. Hồ Chí Minh wrote “while emphasizing the importance of theory, comrade Lenin repeatedly mentioned that revolutionary theory is not a dogma but the lodestar guiding revolutionary actions; theory is not something fixed and rigid but fully creative; theory must be constantly aided by the new conclusions drawn from the living practice… We should concretize Marxism-Leninism to make it appropriate to every concrete circumstance and condition”⁽⁷⁾. He pointed out that “to learn about Marxism-Leninism is to learn about its spirit to deal with all works, all peoples and one’s own self… Learning is needed for acting. Theory should go together with practice. One should not follow rote learning or intellectual pretentiousness”⁽⁸⁾.

We must conclude that Hồ Chí Minh’s thought on socialism is a direct result from his appropriation of the view of Marxism-Leninism on socialism. However, during the process of appropriating Marxism-Leninism, Hồ Chí Minh was able to implement it creatively into the concrete conditions of Vietnam, a country with a time-honored Eastern culture. We can see it specifically in many of his arguments, where he talked about the application of Marxism-Leninism and foreign experiences into the prevailing circumstances of Vietnam.

Hồ Chí Minh criticized two erroneous tendencies in the mechanical application of Marxism-Leninism: one is a dogmatic tendency that ignores practice and the other tendency overvalues experience and consequently defies theory. Hồ Chí Minh wrote “Some comrades are not willing to investigate the practice of Vietnam’s revolution. They do not understand that Marxism-Leninism is the lodestar for action but not the Bible. Therefore, what they do is to learn by heart some sayings of Marx and Lenin to bluff people. There are also some comrades, who insist only on individual experiences. They do not understand that theory is crucial for the practice of revolution… Both tendencies are erroneous; yet the worse is the dogmatic tendency because it deceives people by using the sayings of Marx and Lenin”⁽⁹⁾.

Hồ Chí Minh always reminded future generations to creatively supplement and develop Marxism and tailor it to the characteristic features and historical conditions of every nation, especially those in the East. He wrote, “It is not possible to prohibit supplementing historical bases with materials that Marx could not be able to obtain in his time,” and it is necessary “to rethink Marxism’s historical bases and consolidate them with Eastern ethnography”⁽¹⁰⁾. Therefore, Hồ Chí Minh claimed that if we want to lead the revolution to victory, we need to avoid errors of groping our way, we need to learn the experiences from brother countries and apply them creatively⁽¹¹⁾. At the same time, we need to promote the cultivation and education of Marxism-Leninism in order to apply the standpoints, views and methods of Marxism-Leninism to summarize the specific features of our country. Only by doing so can we gradually grasp the laws of development of the Vietnamese revolution and map out detailed guidelines and steps for the socialist revolution that are appropriate to the situation in our country. Thus, it is necessary to study theoretical frameworks and improve the understandings of theories of the Party, especially by the Party’s key cadres ⁽¹²⁾.

Hồ Chí Minh always paid attention to the universality of Marxism-Leninism, but he also sought the creative application of Marxism-Leninism. This very creativity will lead the socialist construction to victory and avoid the failure caused by dogmatism and mechanicalism. Hồ Chí Minh wrote “at the moment we have extensive experiences of construction of socialism from brother countries but we cannot apply them mechanically because each country has its own specific features”⁽¹³⁾. The experience of the Soviet Union in constructing socialism was valuable but Ho Chi Minh reminded us that we may have our distinct ways to socialism. He wrote “we cannot just copy the Soviet Union’s practices because the Soviet Union has its distinctive practice, custom, history and geography… we may have our very own path to socialism”⁽¹⁴⁾.

Together with Marxism-Leninism, Sun Yat‑sen’s thoughts were also highly valued by Hồ Chí Minh and were creatively applied to the conditions of Vietnam. As mentioned above, Hồ Chí Minh found that Sun Yat‑sen’s policy was appropriate to Vietnam.

Sun Yat‑sen was a well-known revolutionary leader in Asia. He is especially popular in Japan, China and Vietnam with his famous “Three Principles of the People” – People’s Nationalism, People’s Sovereignty, and People’s Livelihood.

Etymologically speaking, Sun Yat‑sen suggests that “People’s Livelihood” includes the livelihood of the people, the existence of society, the welfare of the nation and the lives of the masses. Therefore, “People’s Livelihood” is considered as the core of Sun Yat‑sen’s “Three Principles of the People.” The purpose and the meaning of “People’s Nationalism and People’s Sovereignty” are to find solutions to the problems of “People’s Livelihood.” We can say that “People’s Nationalism and People’s Sovereignty” serve as the means of settling “People’s Livelihood,” the existence of society, national welfare and the life of the masses. Moreover, Sun affirms that the problems of “People’s Livelihood” are the rules of the society’s movements and development and the driving force of social progress. Sun Yat‑sen wrote that “human endeavors for survival constitute the law of social evolution and the center of history. What are ‘human endeavors for survival?’ They are issues of the livelihood of the people. Therefore, the principle of the People’s Livelihood is the core driving force of social evolution”⁽¹⁵⁾. Sun Yat‑sen regarded the principles as socialism and communism. According to him, the problems of “People’s Livelihood” are “social problems, therefore the principle of ‘People’s Livelihood’ is socialism, also known as communism, and that is the doctrine of ‘Tai-tung’ or great harmony” ⁽¹⁶⁾. After all, the goal of socialism and communism is to deal with the problems of people’s livelihood. This is where Sun Yat‑sen’s doctrine and Marxism met. They all claimed socialism and communism as the indispensable developmental states of the history of humanity and are more progressive than capitalism. The goal of socialism and communism is the elevation of human beings and their livelihood. Sun Yat‑sen believed that communism is the ideal expression of the principle of “People’s Livelihood” and the latter is the practice of the former. The sole difference between Sun Yat‑sen and Karl Marx lies in their methods.

While Marx, believed that class struggle was the driving force of social development, Sun Yat‑sen claimed that the problems presented by the livelihood of the people are the main driving forces of history. Therefore, he intended to promote the problems of the livelihood of the people into the center of political, economic and social considerations and made “People’s Livelihood” the center of social history ⁽¹⁷⁾.

Sun Yat‑sen objected to the view that the dictatorship of the proletariat can be used to deal with economic issues. He believed that revolutionary methods can be applied to solve political but not economic problems.

For the Chinese case, Sun Yat‑sen thought that the principle of “People’s Livelihood” cannot be implemented without investigating the conditions and historical circumstances of China. Methods cannot be mapped theoretically but rather through the research of specific conditions and materials. Sun Yat‑sen proposed two guidelines for the implementation of the principle of “People’s Livelihood;” equalization of land ownership and regulation of capital. With the equalization of land ownership, peasants must have access to land and moreover, feel secure and can concentrate on agricultural production, with which regulation of a capitalist state can be developed.

To sum up, if communism is the future of the “Three Principles of the People,” the immediate task is to adequately deliver people’s four basic needs: food, shelter, clothing and transportation. Sun Yat‑sen wrote that “the ideal of the ‘Three Principles of the People’ is that “the people have property, the people rule and people benefit”⁽¹⁸⁾.

Hồ Chí Minh esteemed Sun Yat‑sen’s “Three Principles of the People,” especially the principle of “People’s Livelihood.” He also applied Sun’s thoughts creatively to the conditions of Vietnam, first and foremost, in his conception of socialism.

It should be noted that Hồ Chí Minh’s thought of socialism is the direct result of the acceptance of Marxism-Leninism. However, during the process of acquiring Marxism-Leninism, Hồ Chí Minh applied it ingeniously to meet the concrete conditions of Vietnam, a country with its time-honored Eastern culture. All of this can be seen clearly in his arguments on the implementation of Marxism-Leninism and foreign experiences with the concrete conditions of Vietnam.

Hồ Chí Minh repeatedly criticized two erroneous tendencies in a mechanical application of Marxism Leninism: the tendency of dogmatism, which disregards practice and the tendency of paying too much attention to experience that leads to neglecting the theory. He wrote “some comrades refuse to investigate the practical experience of Vietnam’s revolution. They do not understand that Marxism-Leninism is the lodestar for action but not the Bible. Therefore, they learn by heart some sayings of Marx, Lenin in order to deceive people. Some other comrades are stick-in-the-mud followers of scattered experiences. They do not understand that theory is very important for practicing revolution. Both those tendencies are erroneous, especially that of dogmatism, because it deceives the people in the name of Marxism-Leninism”⁽¹⁹⁾.

Hồ Chí Minh always reminded the following generations to constantly and creatively supplement Marxism to make it suitable for the historical conditions of their nation, especially Eastern nations. “It is not prohibited, anyway, to supplement Marxism with new data, which were not available in Marx’s time, it is necessary to re-investigate the historical base of Marxism and reinforce it with the knowledge of Eastern ethnology”⁽²⁰⁾.

Therefore, Hồ Chí Minh maintained that we need to learn from the experiences of brother countries and and use their knowledge creatively to lead our revolution to victory without wasting time and committing errors ⁽²¹⁾. And at the same time, we should promote the cultivation of Marxism-Leninism in order to use that standpoint, view and method to generalize the characteristics of our country. Only in doing so can we gradually comprehend the laws of development of Vietnam’s revolution and then map out concrete policies, guidelines and steps for the socialist revolution that is suitable for the conditions of our country. Therefore, we need to acquire theory and promote the general theoretical level of the Party, starting with the core cadres of the Party⁽²²⁾.

Hồ Chí Minh always emphasized the universality of Marxism-Leninism but he also asked our cadres to be creative in the implementation of the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism. This very creativity in implementing Marxism-Leninism will contribute to the success of the cause of building socialism and avoid the failures caused by dogmatism and mechanical application of Marxism-Leninism. Hồ Chí Minh wrote “Regarding the cause of the building of socialism, we have plentiful experiences from brother-countries, but we cannot implement those experiences mechanically because our country has its own characteristics”⁽²³⁾.  The experiences of the Soviet Union are valuable, but Hồ Chí Minh reminded us that “We cannot be like the Soviet Union, because the Soviet Union has different customs, different historical and geographical conditions… we can have another way to process to socialism”⁽²⁴⁾.

Thus, we can see that Hồ Chí Minh had his own way of articulating the essence of socialism, which is imbued with the specific feature of Eastern nations, emphasizing mainly the problems of people’s livelihood, as in Sun Yat‑sen’s words: that of the livelihood of the people, the existence of society, the welfare of the nation and the life of the masses. While Sun Yat‑sen claimed that the principle of people’s livelihood is socialism and communism, Hồ Chí Minh thought that the goal of socialism is to resolve the problems of people’s livelihood, bringing welfare, freedom and happiness to the people.

Hồ Chí Minh said that people are the root of revolution. He often reminded the cadres “to remember that people are the rulers of the country. If the People were water, we (cadres) would be the fish. All our power and strength rely on people”⁽²⁵⁾. “The government is the people’s servant. It is government’s job to bring freedom and happiness to the people. Therefore, the people’s government must always give the highest priority to the people’s interests. We should do what is beneficial for the people and avoid what is harmful for the people”⁽²⁶⁾. The rights that Vietnamese have gained are the right to live, the right to be happy and be free. His only desire is “to bring full freedom and independence to the people. And such kind of freedom and independence should be enjoyed by all the people like the way all creatures enjoy the light of the Sun”⁽²⁷⁾.

He affirmed, “I have only one desire, my most earnest desire – to achieve complete independence for our country, complete freedom for our people, and opportunities for all our countrymen to have adequate food and clothing and education. On my part, I need only a humble shelter, where there are green mountains and a river to fish and grow flowers so I can, all day long, befriend old woodsmen and children and be far away from fame and wealth”⁽²⁸⁾.

However, among the rights the people can enjoy, Hồ Chí Minh paid particular attention to the right to live and the way to improve people’s living standards. To the question of “what is socialism?” Hồ Chí Minh wrote “the goal of socialism is to constantly improve people’s living standards”⁽²⁹⁾. Therefore, the policy of the Party and Government is to take utmost care of people’s lives. “If the people suffer from hunger, the Party and Government are guilty; if the people do not have enough clothes, the Party and Government are guilty, if the people do not have access to education, the Party and Government are guilty, if the people are sick, the Party and Government are guilty”⁽³⁰⁾. “What the Party struggles for? For people to have adequate food, shelter and freedom. What every Party’s member struggles for? For people to have food, shelter and freedom too. What is socialism? People can have food, shelter, be happy and free”⁽³¹⁾.

Thus, Hồ Chí Minh’s socialism first of all, deals with the problems of people’s livelihood, and the basic needs of the people. Without proper solutions to those needs, the construction of socialism is meaningless. As Hồ Chí Minh said to the cadres “with an empty stomach, people pay no attention to what you say, regardless of how attractively you may speak”⁽³²⁾. The goal of socialism is to bring welfare, education and happiness to the people. “Briefly and plainly speaking, socialism first of all is to liberate the working people from poverty, bring employment, welfare and happiness to the people”⁽³³⁾.

When talking of socialism, Hồ Chí Minh always stressed, first of all, the need to improve people’s living standards and provide all people with adequate food, shelter and education. “To sum up, particular attention should be paid to the works that can improve the material and spiritual life of the people”⁽³⁴⁾. Hồ Chí Minh affirmed that “we have gained independence and freedom but independence and freedom have no significance at all if our people still suffer from food insecurity and poverty. The people only clearly understand the value of freedom and independence when they are provided with adequate food and shelter”⁽³⁵⁾.

In Vietnam, right from the beginning of the 20^th century, with profound experiences of the revolutionary struggle of the working classes in developed capitalist countries as well as acceptance of  the quintessence of humanity, especially with the adoption of  the scientific theory of Marxism-Leninism, Hồ Chí Minh summarized and came up with a correct, profound and revolutionary thought asserting that “national independence must be associated with socialism.”

While studying Hồ Chí Minh’s thought, we could generalize from his development philosophy briefly and succinctly into three words: independence, freedom and happiness. The profound significance of Hồ Chí Minh’s thought on independence, freedom and happiness manifests itself in the following fundamental aspects.

First, national independence is the premise of happiness and freedom. According to Hồ Chí Minh, national independence can only be achieved through a proletarian revolution. “Only communism can save humanity and bring freedom, equality, charity, solidarity, prosperity,  joy, peace, happiness to people, regardless of their race and origin. In short, the worldly republic that eliminates the capitalist boundaries which are the only long walls to prevent laborers in the world from understanding and loving each other.” He asserted that in order to gain independence for the nation the Vietnamese people, he would even burn down the Trường Sơn mountain range if needed. National independence is not something new in national and world history. But Hồ Chí Minh’s idea of ​​national independence is a completely new thought, which is raised to a new level with a new quality – national independence is the premise of freedom and happiness, and therefore, should be attached to socialism.

Second, happiness and freedom are core values ​​of national independence. According to Hồ Chí Minh, once the country achieve its independence its people must enjoy happiness and freedom, because freedom and happiness are a measure of the value of national independence. National independence must be associated with socialism, because only in a socialist country can people find the right conditions to grow comprehensively, improve his or her own life, develop his or her own personality and strengths, as well as take care of others.

From Hồ Chí Minh’s point of view, happiness and freedom mean that people enjoy the full material and spiritual life brought about by socialism. Everyone has food and clothing, and access to education. Everyone deserves and could possess their wealth. People are rulers of their own lives.

Freedom, a broader concept of democracy, is the goal of any nation. Democracy is freedom within a certain context, the contextualization of freedoms at a certain historical period. Referring to the goal of socialism, K. Marx asserted that “the freedom of each is the condition for the freedom of all.” F. Engels also drew a famous conclusion, that the development of society is the process of transition from necessity to freedom.

Third, independence, freedom and happiness are common values ​​of humanity, and are measures to evaluate human development as the ultimate goal. The struggle to liberate people and for human development is “the red thread” throughout the history of human development. Through each social revolution, human values ​​have been further enhanced and implemented in practice. In particular, entering the 21st century, the United Nations has set the Millennium Development Goals with eight specific points: 1) to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; 2) to achieve universal primary education; 3) to promote gender equality and empower women; 4) to reduce child mortality; 5) to improve maternal health; 6) to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; 7) to ensure environmental sustainability; and 8) to develop a global partnership for development. These eight points, with different levels of emphasis, are present in Hồ Chí Minh’s heritage of thought and, at the same time, have been undertaken steadily in the renovation process in Vietnam. While the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an essential indicator of economic growth, it is the Human Development Index (HDI) that is taken more seriously because of it being a direct indicator of human development.

Fourth, at the present, independence play an important role not only in national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity but also in national economic development, foreign affairs, and so on. As we know it, humanity witnesses the direct impacts of the trend of globalization and international economic integration to all nations, whether they like it or not. Independence today is not simply a defined boundary or a sovereignty of territorial integrity, it has become self-reliance of economic and foreign affairs, which are the most important issues in modern societies. If the economy and foreign affairs of a country are relying on another nation, that country cannot declare their national independence. Economics is, after all, the lifeblood of all other areas. That is the principle of Marxism-Leninism, which is still true and valid in current society.

Devoting his whole life to the cause of national liberation, Hồ Chí Minh changed the destiny of the nation and people of Vietnam. It was Hồ Chí Minh who brought Vietnam from a colonial and semi-feudal state to an independent country. Sovereignty turned the Vietnamese people from slavery to a free people, to become rulers of their own society. He stated a famous axiom: “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom.” Since the birth of Vietnam, first as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 1945 to 1975 and then as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 1975 to the present day, the three most sacred and great values, which progressive humanity in general and the people of Vietnam in particular constantly strive to win are “Independence – Freedom – Happiness.”

In that common and causal value chain, a preceding value is the premise, the condition for the following one. The statement holds a rigorous logic and natural necessity. Without independence, it is difficult to have freedom and when there is no freedom, there will be no happiness. This is true both on the macro level of nations, states and on the micro level of individual human beings. It can be said that “Independence – Freedom – Happiness” are the elements and fundamental values ​​of forming and developing a nation in accordance with the true meaning of the words. The value ​of “Independence – Freedom – Happiness” becomes more fundamental and prominent especially for wannabe socialist countries.

From the above analysis, we can affirm that Hồ Chí Minh’s thought is the selective acquisition and distillation of many heritages of thought found throughout the culture of humanity. It was a specific process of acculturation contributing to form the originality in Hồ Chí Minh’s thought. We can trace back through it the traditional values of our nation, which are patriotism, the spirit of tolerance, the sense of self-reliance and the spirit of solidarity. Moreover, in comparison with many other thinkers throughout national history, Hồ Chí Minh also overcame narrow-minded nationalism, and acquired rational elements from the ethical teaching of Confucianism, Christ’s altruism, the dialectical method of Marxism and Sun Yat‑sen’s “Three Principles of the People.”

Thanks to this acculturation of different trends of thought in the spiritual heritage of humanity, Hồ Chí Minh’s thought has been the lodestar guiding Vietnam to gain national independence, unify the whole country and bring the life of freedom, well-being and happiness to the people. It also contributes to stabilize the world, develop friendship among nations and bring about social progress and the development of humanity.

Conclusion

The concept of a good society in Vietnam today expresses the inheritance and development of Hồ Chí Minh thoughts on a good society. Those thoughts are expressed concisely in the goal of building a Vietnam with “wealthy people, strong country and a democratic, just, and civilized society” that the Vietnamese are now striving for. In order to achieve this goal, we need a strategy for sustainable development, which is based on harmonious relations between different areas and elements of social life.

Thus, in order to build and develop a good society, at the current time Vietnam needs to carry out successfully following important tasks:

First, perfecting institutions and developing a socialist-oriented market economy.

During the past 36 years the transition to building and developing a socialist-oriented market economy in Vietnam has brought about great achievements, a new status, position and strength for the country, all of which serve as a premise for the next developmental step. In order to firmly strengthen the independence and realization of the values ​​of freedom and happiness of the people, we need to continue developing and perfecting a socialist-oriented market economy concretely. This process includes:

– Continuing to improve institutions of ownership and development of economic sectors.

– Developing synchronously elements, factors and types of market.

– Promoting international economic integration.

– Enhancing the Party’s leadership capacity and the Government’s management efficiency in socio-economic spheres.

– Advancing the people’s control of socio-economic development.

Second, realizing social progress and social justice.

– Linking economic with social policies and economic development resulting in an improvement of the quality of life of the people.

– Address the root issues of labor and employment as well as raising employees’ income and ensuring social security.

– Attaching importance to taking care of people’s health, while successfully dealing with issues related to population, which includes family planning and building happy families.

Third, strengthening national defense and security; improving the effectiveness of foreign affairs activities and international integration.

– Consolidating national defense, while maintaining national security, political stability, social order and safety, and firmly protecting national independence and territorial sovereignty.

– Ensuring the supreme interest of the nation; to consistently implement a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; to promote diversification, multilateralization in activities of foreign policies; to integrate actively with the world; and to flexibly balance cooperation and struggle.

Fourth, democratizing social life; ensuring democracy in the Party is an example of exercising democracy in society.

– Democracy within the Party is a prerequisite, a nucleus, an example to exercise democracy in the society.

– Implementing democracy is both a goal and a driving force for social development.

Fifth, comprehensive human development is the goal of the socio-economic development strategy.

– Creating favorable environment and conditions for human development in terms of personality, morality, intelligence, physicality, creative capacity and social responsibility.

– Struggling, criticizing and repelling evil, vileness, backwardness, and all the factors that corrupt people./.

(1) Stories about the Ho Chi Minh’s Revolution Life (Tam Lien Publishing House, 1949).

(2), (3), (25), (26), (27), (28) Ho Chi Minh, The Complete Works, Vol. 4, p.197, p.267, p.101, p. 22, p. 45, pp. 161-162.

(4), (7), (9), (19) Ho Chi Minh, The Complete Works, Vol. 6, p. 225, p. 496, p. 247, p. 247.

(5) Ho Chi Minh, The Complete Works, Vol. 2, pp.453-454.

(6), (10), (20) Ho Chi Minh, The Complete Works, Vol. 1, pp.464-465, p.465, p.465.

(8) Ho Chi Minh, The Complete Works, Vol. 9, p.292.

(11), (21) Ho Chi Minh, The Complete Works, Vol. 5, p.494, p.494.

(12), (13), (14), (22), (23), (24), (31), (32), (34), (35) Ho Chi Minh, The Complete Works, Vol. 8, p.494-495, p. 449, p. 227, pp.494-495, p. 499, p. 227, p. 396, p. 411, p. 396, p. 396.

(15), (16), (17), (18) Sun Yat‑sen, The Three Principles of the People (Hanoi: Institute of Social Sciences Information, 1995), p.336, p. 313, p. 344, p. 369.

(29), (33) Ho Chi Minh, The Complete Works, Vol. 10, p.31, p. 17.

(30) Ho Chi Minh, The Complete Works, Vol. 7, p.572.