Applying Presidents Ho Chi Minh’s thought of struggling against individualism and its diseases among the Military cadres and party members seems to be an urgent, imminent, regular and prolonged duty directly contributing to the construction of the Army, which is strong in politics and can meet the demands and missions in the new situation.

In his legacy to the whole Party, people and army, President Ho Chi Minh had many writings and speeches mentioning the theoretical and practical issues on the revolutionary morality and the struggle against individualism, making the basis for all activities of the Party, its members and cadres. According to him, individualism meant that everything was for private benefits, not mention the common ones for the collectives and society. It was a virulent microbe bearing hundreds of dangerous diseases. “It is individualism that causes disunity, lack of organisation and discipline, irresponsibility, inexecution of the Party’s and State’s guidelines and policies, and harms the benefits of the revolution and people”. It has become the internal enemy of each individual and organisation, which can be dangerous, hardly seen and struggled, not only directly affects their duty results but also deteriorates the trust by the people to the Party and cadres, even endangers the existence of socialism. “As a result, the victory of socialism cannot be separated from the one of the struggle against individualism”. However, he also noted that struggling against individualism did not mean “trampling upon the personal interest”, and framed the supreme rules for each cadre and party member, i.e. “When personal interest contradicts that of the collective, the revolutionary morality requires the personal interest to comply with the collective one”. He himself was an exemplary mirror on practising the revolutionary morality, struggling against individualism for all cadres, party members and people to learn and follow.

Presently, there has been a development regarding the quality and quantity of cadres and party members, who have owned stable politics, well proved their pioneering and exemplary roles in carrying out the revolutionary duties in all fields. However, a part of them, in the Army particularly, due to their personal interest, has had expression of fading the revolutionary nature, the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, declined their morale, been irresponsible and fearful of hardships and difficulties, violated the Party’s discipline, State’s law, the Army’s discipline, etc., which directly affects the quality of the missions on the military, defence and building the Army. Hence, in order to follow Uncle Ho’s teachings, grasp and implement Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW, dated 28/12/2021 by the Central Military Commission (CMC) on promoting the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers”, resolutely struggling against individualism in the new situation, it is necessary to enhance the struggle against individualism among the Army’s cadres and party members by focusing on several main contents and solutions as follows:

Firstly, enhance the political education, improve the will of struggling against individualism for cadres and party members. In the current market economy with “open-door” policies and international integration, individualism has its own conditions to develop and differently affects the Military cadres and party members. As a result, the party executive committees and leading officers at all levels need to consider the struggle against individualism the regular and urgent duty in building, reorganising the Party and improving the quality of cadres and party members; focus on the political education in their offices and units. The education contents not only equip cadres and party members with deep consciousness of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines, missions of protecting the Homeland, building the Army; advantages and difficulties in carrying out the duties, and the sabotaging plots and fuses by the hostile forces to our revolution and Army, but also clarify the expressions and harms of individualism; on that basis, to define specific missions, requirements and solutions which are closely related to their units. At the same time, it needs to attentively cultivate the revolutionary virtues, improve the cadres and party members’ morale in struggling against individualism and its diseases; closely combine between forms and solutions of traditional propaganda and the use of mass media and communication to create the active public opinion supporting the right, struggling against and criticising individualistic expressions and wrong behaviours in order to make the drastic changes among cadres and party members on their consciousness, attitude and actions, improve the quality of their activities, working fields and successfully accomplish all assigned tasks.

Secondly, strengthen the examination and supervision by the party executive committees, leading officers and public unions over cadres and party members. President Ho Chi Minh once said: “There is one way to see how hard-working they are, which is proper check. It is the proper check that can find all shortcomings and definitely reduce them afterwards”. Hence, the examination and supervision by the all-level party executive committees, leading officers and public unions have an important role in managing cadres and party members, timely discovering and solving all expressions of individualism. In order to well carry it out, the party executive committees, leading officers at all levels must research, build and complete all regulations and rules so that cadres and party members could not develop thoughts and behaviours of individualism, corruption and negativity; at the same time, regularly make close, scientific and comprehensive checks and supervisions on both political thought, motives, attitudes, working skills, moral quality, lifestyle and their task results according to their assigned responsibility. In the process of implementation, it is necessary to bring into play the general strength of offices, specialised forces and public unions; closely combine the checking and supervising work with discipline enforcement due to the Party’s rules. Together, it needs to regularly renovate the contents and forms of meetings and democratic dialogues in order to collect ideas made by the public unions about cadres and party members to timely discover and effectively struggle against individualistic expressions, negative and corrupted activities; make reward mechanism to encourage and protect individuals and forces having had their proactive attendance in this struggle.

Thirdly, bring into play the cadres’ and party members’ proactive role in recognising and struggling against individualism. In the social life, each person has strength and unavoidable weakness, in President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings, it is to “make the good blossom like flowers in spring and gradually vanish the wrong”. Accordingly, in all actions, each military cadre and party member must be fully aware of expressions and harms of individualism; then set up high requirements for self-improving and practicing the revolutionary morality, having a progressive attitude in receiving comments from other cadres, party members and people within the units, regularly self-improve themselves in all fields. In present conditions, on bringing into play the proactive and active roles of military cadres and party members in struggling against individualism, it is necessary to seriously grasp and implement Resolution No 847 by the CMC combined with implementing directions, resolutions and conclusions on building and reorganising the Party, especially the 4th Central Resolution (13^th tenure) on enhancing the construction and reorganisation of the Party and the political system; Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW, dated 16/6/2022 by the Central Party Committee (CPC) (13^th tenure) on strengthening the consolidation and construction of  grassroots party cells and the improvement of the party members in the new period; regulations by the CPC, CMC on the responsibility for example-setting by cadres and party members; promoting the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style; Conclusion No. 14-KL/TW, dated 22/9/2021 by the Politburo (13^th tenure) on encouraging and protecting cadres who are dynamic, creative and for the sake of the common interest, etc. in order to make drastic changes in the awareness of self-improving their revolutionary morality and struggling against individualism.

Fourthly, closely combine the criticism and self-criticism, “self-lighting, self-correcting” by cadres and party members with the resolute struggle against individualistic expressions. The self-criticism and self-struggle or struggle with others to have right consciousness and actions, humanity, progress; at the same time, to eradicate the wrong, negativity and obsoleteness from each individual, organisation and the military environment presently appear to be an important requirement for building cadres and party members. Although we have already mentioned this requirement, there have been expressions of formality, avoidance and fear of struggle in some offices and units. Thus, being embedded with Uncle Ho’s teaching, i.e. “A nation, a party and each person who were great and attractive yesterday may not be loved and praised today if they advocate individualism and their mind is not bright enough”, the party executive committees need to effectively hold types of criticism and self-criticism, “self-lighting, self-correcting” for cadres and party members. It needs to focus on promoting the democracy, straight and honest attitude of cadres and party members in self-criticism and criticism; criticising the fear-of-struggle expressions which can lead to the internal distrust and hate, or taking advantage of the criticism, “self-lighting, self-correcting” to obtain personal intrigues. The higher the cadres’ and party members’ positions are, the more exemplary they need to become in criticism and self-criticism, “self-lighting, self-correcting”, practicing their revolutionary morality and struggling against individualism so that their juniors can learn and follow.

When discovering among cadres and party members the individualistic expressions of irresponsibility, self-interest, corruption, negativity, etc., the party executive committees at all levels must resolutely fight against and timely solve to assure the strictness of the Party’s and Army’s discipline; avoiding the protection and concealment of the shortcomings, which could not create the warnings for the violators, the prevention and undeceiving within offices and units, and deteriorates the trust by the cadres, party members and people to the struggle against individualism, activities of corruption and negativity among the Military cadres and party members nowadays.

Senior Colonel, Dr. VU DINH DAC, Political College