Although the “Outline on Vietnamese Culture” was drafted more than 80 years ago, our Party’s fundamental viewpoints on revolutionary culture mentioned in the document have not only historical values but also great theoretical and practical values to the building of today’s national protection culture.

Values and significance of the “Outline on Vietnamese Culture” – 80 years in retrospect

In the revolutionary atmosphere, amidst the complex situational developments, our Party and General Secretary Truong Chinh realised the role and influence of culture, and gave breakthrough orientations to our revolution via culture. In February 1943, comrade Truong Chinh was responsible for drafting the “Outline on Vietnamese Culture” (hereafter the Culture Outline for short), discussed and approved by the Party Central Standing Board’s Plenum (25^th February – 28^th February 1943). The historic document served as a Platform of the Party on culture. That was the culture in the period of national liberation, laying a foundation for the upcoming democratic and revolutionary culture, acting as the lodestar for the future socialist culture.

Proof of the Culture Outline’s effect was given by the victory of the August Revolution (1945), by the building of the republic, by the guidelines on both national resistance and construction as well as by historical journeys of national construction and protection associated with the internal strength of the entire Vietnamese people’s culture, patriotism, creativity, courage, and sacrifice. President Ho Chi Minh’s argument that “culture lights the way for the nation” remains valuable forever. Humans are the maker of culture and history. Amongst the truth, goodness, and beauty  system, humans are the highest value – the value of all values. The development and perfection of human dignity is the greatest victory of culture. When three fundamental characteristics, namely Nation – Science –  Popularity, are identified as the three core principles, which are Nationalisation, Scientisation, and Popularisation, for the building of the new culture, it is clear for us to see that all those values and orientations derive from and focus on the subject of culture, from individuals to ethnic communities. More specifically, they include the Vietnamese people and nation.

After 80 years, we could say that the Culture Outline is the application and concretisation of the Resolution made by the Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum (May 1941) on culture; at the same time, it is the application and concretisation of President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on culture. While upholding the national liberation flag, the Resolution of the Party Central Committee’s 8^th Plenum mentioned the issue on relevant nations and the culture of each nation. According to the Resolution, “All nations living in Indochina will be organised into a federal democratic republic, or each nation will become a nation-state at their disposal”,  “culture of each nation will develop and exist on their own, their mother tongue will enjoy free development and existence and will be guaranteed. Their independence will be acknowledged and respected”.

That scientific and political standpoint is a follow-up to V.I. Lenin’s ideology on the right of nations to self-determination and equality between nations characterised by Nation – Science – Popularity of the culture which would be built and developed by the revolution. The principles of Nationalisation, Scientisation, and Popularisation in building the new culture helped clarify the relationships between the nation and the class as well as the Fatherland and the people. Those principles also helped assert the role of the people as the maker of culture and the enjoyer of the cultural values created by themselves, including both material and mental cultural ones.

To enable the people in each nation to possess culture, it is vital to gain national independence and freedom for them, abolish slavery, turn them into masters, and equip them with knowledge as a precondition for understanding and creating culture.

Popularisation must be based on scientisation and nationalisation to demonstrate national spirit, consciousness, strength, knowledge, and dignity as President Ho Chi Minh confirmed: “It’s better to die free than live as a slave”. Men are the maker of culture; in return, it is culture that forges and perfects human dignity. There, humans live and create things like a selection of values; from ancient times to the present, the Vietnamese people have always chosen the good instead of the evil. Those true national spirit and soul are highlighted by patriotism and humanism, which could also be seen as the undying vitality and constant of the Vietnamese nation and culture.

Morality is at the core of culture. Benevolence and compassion are part of the Vietnamese people’s virtues, making Vietnamese culture’s national identity and nationalisation completely different from narrow, extreme, selfish nationalism. Benevolence and compassion are both moral and political features that form culture – a democratic culture as an identity and a benevolent culture as a value and conduct.

The Culture Outline is a both traditional and modern culture-related ideological theoretical design. Although 80 years have elapsed, the Culture Outline’s values, significance, and vitality remain the same in the building and making of the new culture and new men in the new era – the Ho Chi Minh era – the era of national independence and socialism. Nowadays, it is the “aspiration for developing a prosperous, happy country”. To realise that aspiration, it is necessary to nurture and bring into play “a sense of devotion to the country amongst all Vietnamese people”, with the incentive to “put the Fatherland and nation above all”. Nurturing and transforming the desire for devotion into vivid reality must be based on the exploitation of the internal strength created by the Vietnamese people and culture.

Applying Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on culture and promoting the values of the Culture Outline in building today’s national protection culture

National construction is closely connected with national protection, political regime building and economic, cultural development are associated with firmly protecting national independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity, which have become a principle in our history of national construction and protection. Our ancestors creatively applied this principle via the policy of “winning the people’s hearts and minds” for “national governance, peace, and prosperity”, while proactively formulating national protection strategies in all situations. Inheriting and bringing into play that tradition, President Ho Chi Minh said: “The Hung Kings founded this nation, we must defend it together”, which could be seen as a message for our Military and people about the necessity of national protection culture building.

There are notably, critically important arguments among the President’s instructions on national protection culture. According to Ho Chi Minh, culture must be integrated into economics and politics. National construction and development (for the country’s prosperity and the people’s well-being) is part of culture building. Politics with solidarity and purity as its key aspects should be assimilated into folk life, which shows us that morality is a guarantee for politics, particularly “democratic and humane” politics. In order that politics could be assimilated into folk life, such politics must have true political culture. Nowadays, our Party stresses that it is essential to integrate culture into politics, Party organisations, State agencies, and unions within the political system. Doing so will enable culture to be instilled into all aspects of social life as the soft power and values that will orientate social development for the people and their happiness. That is a truly humane social development. That is also a standard for all people to practise a moral and cultural lifestyle.

Furthermore, our Party has paid due regard to consolidating national unity strength and bringing into play the people’s patriotism.  The strength of patriotism and the spirit of national great unity have created invincible strength, with independence and  freedom as the highest value. This is the foundation of national protection culture which will help gather all people in defending the Fatherland as President Ho Chi Minh stated “We would rather sacrifice everything than lose our country and return to slavery”, and under the motto of “putting the Fatherland and the nation above all”.

Grasping Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on culture with those above-mentioned notable viewpoints and bringing into play the values of the Culture Outline in building today’s national protection culture, we should focus on implementing several measures as follows.

First of all, enhancing education work to raise the entire Party, Military, and people’s awareness of national protection culture. Not just about military culture, it is essential to raise the whole Party, State, political system, and society’s awareness of political culture whose values should be spread more deeply and widely. The core value of the national protection culture is patriotism and national consciousness when all people are fully aware of their duty and obligation to take part in Fatherland defence; in this regard, the armed forces shall play a key role, increasing their vigilance, and maintaining their combat readiness to safeguard national independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity as well as the Party, State, people, and socialist regime under the Party’s guidelines and resolutions. In the education process, it is necessary to arouse pride in the glorious tradition of the nation, Party, People’s Army, and People’s Public Security as well as the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and “People’s Public Security Soldiers”. Great value should be attached to educating revolutionary ideal, sentiment, and faith so that the armed forces will always be ready to fight and sacrifice for the country’s independence and the people’s happiness. To build national protection culture, there must be a national great unity block as the social foundation. Thus, it is vital to promote the role of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front in encouraging the people to take part in building and consolidating all-people national defence posture and potential associated with people’s security posture and potential, protecting borders, seas, and islands as well as stepping up the movement titled “All people protect national security”. Due attention should be paid to preventing all plots and artifices of hostile forces, harmoniously managing the relationship between national construction and protection by means of synergy, and nurturing patriotism and combat readiness spirit amongst our Military and people to safeguard our revolutionary fruits and renovation cause.

Second, enhancing mass mobilisation work and bringing into play the people’s potential and creativity in national construction and protection. National protection culture is centred on not only the armed forces but also the people’s war and all-people national defence to gather all citizens and turn them into soldiers. Therefore, the People’s Army and People’s Public Security must play a core role in raising the effectiveness of mass mobilisation work and building a “posture of people’s hearts and minds” to bring into play the people’s strength, initiatives, and creativity in realising national protection culture. Cadres’ qualities and competence will be measured by the people’s gratification. The people’s faith in the Party and regime is an invaluable asset that should be preserved and promoted.

Third, attaching importance to developing a strong, modern economy as the basis for building and practically, effectively realising national protection culture. With a strong economy, we will have resources for investing in national defence and security as well as building revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled, modernised People’s Army and People’s Public Security capable of defeating all enemies, responding to all challenges, particularly non-traditional security threats, preventing wars in cyberspace, and protecting national security and human security amidst the 4^th industrial revolution, digital transformation, digital socio-economic administration, and a change from traditional to global citizenship.

Fourth, drastically renewing institutions, policies, and mechanisms to promote human intellectual potential and adapt to culture for development. We integrate into the world in the field of culture for development, but we shall not lose our national tradition and cultural identity. As long as our culture remains, our nation remains; the nation’s cultural internal strength guarantees the strength and effectiveness of national protection culture from a cultural perspective. Therefore, to transform national protection culture into material and mental power, it is necessary to take humans as the decisive factor. In the digital era, although the 4^th industrial revolution has impacts on all aspects of social life, national protection culture must be maintained in terms of humane-social quality together with national politics, morality, and culture as well as the important role of science and technology. In the building of national protection culture, significance should be attached to harmoniously managing the relationship between humans, politico-spiritual potential, and other factors. Last but not least, building national protection culture on the point of value must be consistent with building a national value system, an advanced cultural value system imbued with national identity, and a value system for Vietnamese people in which the value system for family culture serves as the foundation under the Party’s leadership.

Prof. HOANG CHI BAO, PhD.