The reality proves that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) headed by President Ho Chi Minh, following Marxism-Leninism, our country has made great achievements in national liberation and unification as well as Socialist Homeland construction and defence. However, opportunists and reactionaries, for different reasons, have been distorting and denying the revolutionary history, Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought and the leadership of the CPV. Their plot is to gradually transform our society into capitalism. They argue that Marxism only wins "in places where no industrial civilization exists... Marxism is just the ideology of a group of people, which are provoked by the pursuit of material benefits”!
With regard to the Socialist construction, some said that Vietnam copies "Soviet model" when building its State. Another wrote that "The CPV has renounced Marxism-Leninism and built a law-governed socialist state (in place a state of proletarian dictatorship according to Marxism-Leninism) and a market economy instead of a planned economy as Lenin’s teachings, etc. Mentioning the role of President Ho Chi Minh, they complained that his "introducing Marxism-Leninism with Class Struggle doctrine caused a long-lasting fratricide” and that Ho Chi Minh "is just a nationalist and popularizing Marxism-Leninism in Vietnam is a historic mistake.” Several social networking groups even requested the Politburo to "change the political platform, abandon socialism, completely shift to the national and democratic path, focal point of which is to transform political institutions from totalitarianism to democracy", etc. So, what is the nature of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought? How does our Party creatively apply Marxism-Leninism? Why do we consider Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought the ideological basis for and sustainable values to our Party and People?
1- The nature of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought
Marxism-Leninism was founded by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and V. Lenin on the inheritance of selective scientific achievements, human ideological values and culture. Their ideology is a system of scientific views and methodologies based on the study of human history and capitalist economy. Its goals are to liberate people and societies and to bring about a life of prosperity, freedom and happiness for all as well. Marxism's transcendent ideological values are not only the theory of the proletarian revolution but also the dialectical and historical materialist methodologies. It depicts the method of examining phenomena’s developments (including history and societies) in the struggle between the two opposites as well as the interaction between infrastructure and superstructure. These relationships depend on both objective norms and human subjective activities. Grounded on the Marxism-Engelsism ideology, Lenin comprehensively developed the revolutionary theory in the imperialism, deepened the argument on the revolution of national liberation and Socialist construction skipping capitalism. Lenin confirmed that the oppressed could possibly carry out revolution of national liberation from the imperialist domination... and "to defeat capitalism..., it requires the alliance and unification of the proletariat and the oppressed all over the world."
The relationship between Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought is dialectical. Historically, Marxism-Leninism was introduced to our People by Nguyen Ai Quoc - President Ho Chi Minh. This was written in "The way that led me to Leninism" - "At that time...I admired Lenin because he was a great patriot who had liberated his countrymen... Gradually, I understood that only socialism and communism could free the oppressed people and laborers from slavery." He also referred to "Marxism-Leninism as a miracle handbook", which provided the solutions for people to ride out the storm. In terms of political ideology, the relationship between Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought is dialectical in both theory and methodology. In the opening ceremony of the first theoretical course at Nguyen Ai Quoc School (Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics now), he emphasized that "studying theory is not aimed at turning you into doctrinaire conservatives but putting the Marxist-Leninist methodology to good use in our revolutionary practice.”
Thus, the arguments of fake "Marxists” and  “patriots” that President Ho Chi Minh is a "nationalist" and the denial of Marxism-Leninism are just malicious political conspiracies against our Party and society’s ideological foundation.
2- How does our Party creatively apply the Marxism- Leninism?
Certainly, Vietnam’s revolutionary victory in the 20th century stems from the creative application of Marxism-Leninism by President Ho Chi Minh and the CPV. In the capitalist countries, the Communist Party is the combination of the Marxism-Leninism with the workers’ movement. In Vietnam, the patriotic movement is the addition to the birth of the CPV. Clearly pointed out in the Party’s political platform by Nguyen Ai Quoc, the guideline is "to undertake the middle-class civil rights and land revolution for communist society." Our revolution consists of two phases, including “middle-class civil rights revolution" and building the “communist society”. To this end, right after taking power, our country, in the face of internal and external hostility, built up the "Democratic Republic State" with the principle of democratic centralism and for the sake of the majority’s rights and interests.
When it comes to President Ho Chi Minh’s political and ideological creativeness, it cannot be forgotten to mention the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence in 1945. In this historic document, the "US Declaration of Independence" (1776) and the "French Declaration of Human Rights and Civil Rights" (1789) were quoted. On the basis of their great thoughts, President Ho Chi Minh presented a new valuable truth to the oppressed that "all nations are born equal with the rights to live, to enjoy life and liberty." Accordingly, our Declaration of Independence (1945) was a double one – the Vietnamese declaration of national self-determination and the declaration of the oppressed’s human rights.
After the August Revolution, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh, our people organized a General Election and built the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a modern and civilized state. It was not the Soviet model of “workers- peasants- soldiers" State after the October Revolution, 1917. This is our President and Party’s unique political creativeness. Afterwards, our Party innovatively applied the Marxism-Leninism, formulating the strategies of an all-round people’s warfare, struggling and negotiating simultaneously, making full use of international support, especially the socialist countries and peace-loving nations to clinch complete victory in the two wars of resistance.
Renewal means a historical period of special significance to our people in many aspects. First of all, it starts from the changes in political and social thoughts. Based on the Marxist-Leninist theory and Ho Chi Minh Thought, the 6th Congress (1986) frankly admitted "our Party’s backwardness of theoretical knowledge..., prejudices..., slow acknowledgement of commodity production rules...” It marked an important political development from the 6th Congress to the following ones. The Party has gradually perfected a new socialist model in terms of politics, economy, culture, human, foreign affairs, national defence and security...in accordance with Vietnam’s condition. In the 12th Congress, our Party continued the following issues. Firstly, we persist in the Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought and creatively apply them to Vietnam’s condition; insist on the goals of national independence and socialism as well as renewal". Secondly, we need to prevent and fight against the internal degeneration of politics, ethics, lifestyles, "self-evolution" and "self-transformation". We continue to resolutely remove bureaucracy, corruption, wastefulness, individualism, opportunism, pragmatism, faction and "group interests." Thirdly, we keep fighting against "peaceful evolution" of hostile forces.
In short, it can be said the baseless allegations above are the venomous conspiracies by the intellectual inferiors only.
3. Why do we consider Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought the sustainable values to our People?
First and foremost, the sustainable values of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought lie in their nature. It can’t be denied that some of Marx, Engels, and Lenin's arguments are no longer universal; however, their methodology remains valid; for example, the principle of contradiction between the opposites, the relationship between matter and consciousness, etc. In addition, the view of human history necessarily going through socio-economic formations, the interaction between infrastructure and   superstructure and vice versa, etc. remains the key for us to apply in the reality. The sustainable values also originate from the cause of national construction and defence. History shows that each nation develops in its own orbit. Vietnam's development today is the continuation in the past achievements. In many documents, our Party requires organizations, cadres and Party members to grasp the lessons on the creative application of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought. Moreover, class distinction still keeps going up to now. People all over the world differ in political and economic interests, etc. These issues need to be solved based on the Marxist-Leninist theories and Ho Chi Minh Thought.
The above arguments affirm that our entire revolutionary achievements originate from creative application of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought. This helps to thwart any attempts of hostile forces to distort and deny Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought.
PhD. Cao Duc Thai – Major Do Ngoc Huy*
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* - Academy of Politics, Ministry of National Defence