Our Party affirms that “It embraces Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, considering them ideological foundation and lodestar for its every action”. Thus, studying, developing  and flexibly applying Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought are foundations to make our Party really knowledgeable, moral and civilized, deserving the people’s faith and authorization for the leadership over the State and the society.

In the 19th century, while the capitalism developed rapidly, it exposed severe economic, social and political contradictions, indicating a new social revolution. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels studied and comprehensively summarized capitalism, introducing a set of guiding theoretical viewpoints on a revolution to build a new social regime in which socialism and communism would take the place of capitalism. That was called Marxism. Lenin studied the components of Marxism, strongly confirmed the scientific and practical values of the doctrine. Moreover, Lenin developed Marxism in the early phase of the 20th century when capitalism transformed into imperialism, invaded and ruled colonies for the sake of exclusive profits of capital groups. The creatively theoretical development and the direction of Lenin and the Russian Bolshevik Party brought the Russian October Revolution to victory. Devotion of Lenin was confirmed in both theoretical development and pracctice. Also, he made new developments on the settlement of national and colonial matters, opening a sound revolutionary path for colonial nations to struggle for national liberation.

Vietnam, an independent feudal country, after being invaded on September 1st 1858, became a colony of France on June 6th 1884. Patriotic movements against the French broke out repeatedly in late 19th century and early 20th, but in vain, due to the lack of a scientific theory and the leadership of a revolutionary political party. On his journey to find way to save the country, Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh came across Marxism-Leninism and found out the sound, practical revolutionary path. He founded the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3rd 1930), and the Party chose Marxism-Leninism as the ideological foundation and the lodestar for its actions. Upholding, flexibly applying and developing Marxism-Leninism into the country’s reality, the Communist Party of Vietnam laid down clear-sighted platform and guidelines leading the Vietnam revolution to incessant victories (gaining national independence, defeating invasions of colonialists and imperialists, unifying the country, building and safeguarding the Homeland, successfully carrying out the cause of reform).

Ho Chi Minh always stressed that studying Marxism-Leninism is to grasp its revolutionary and scientific nature to flexibly apply into Vietnam’s reality, not to learn it by heart. He stated: “It is necessary to study the spirit of Marxism-Leninism; study viewpoints and methods of Marxism-Leninism to apply those into the settlement of practical issues of our revolutionary cause”; “We should study Marxism-Leninism more thoroughly, using its viewpoints and methods to sum up our Party’s experience and analyze our country’s specific characteristics. Only by doing so could we gradually understand the rules of development of the Vietnam revolution and set out concrete guidelines and steps for the socialist revolution in accordance with our country’s situation”. His instructions remain valid, which directs the studying of Marxism-Leninism in the cause of socialism construction today. During his process of leadership over the Vietnam revolution, Ho Chi Minh flexibly applied and developed Marxism-Leninism, combining it with his independent thinking and the crystallization of values of the nation and the times to constitute Ho Chi Minh’s thought. His thought has been manifested in the Party’s Platform and guidelines, forming revolutionary and scientific nature of the Party. Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought are the Party’s ideological and theoretical foundation specified in the Platform for National Construction in the Transitional Period to Socialism (1991) (supplemented and developed in 2011). The contents of Ho Chi Minh’s thought were summarized and presented basically at the 9th National Party Congress. The Directive No. 05 CT/TW of the Politburo (12th tenure) on acceleration of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle confirmed: “Ho Chi Minh’s thought is the system of viewpoints and thought on national, class, social and human liberation; on national independence in association with socialism; on the combination between strength of the nation and that of the times; on the people’s strength and the national solidarity bloc; on the mastery of the people and the construction of a State of the people, by the people, and for the people; on all people’s national defence, people’s security and building the people’s armed forces; on socio-economic development, unceasingly improving material and spiritual life of the people; on revolutionary morality; on nurturing the following revolutionary generations; on Party building, etc”.

During the process of renewal, especially after the socialist model fell into crisis and then collapsed in Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union, the ideological and theoretical front of the Communist Party of Vietnam faced new challenges and requirements. However, reality has proved the vitality and the durable scientific values of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought. Upholding, firmly protecting the ideological and theoretical foundation, developing and flexibly applying it into Vietnam’s reality and the context of changes in international situation are the basic, focal task and the urgent demand of the Party in order that the Party is always pure, strong, really “moral and civilized”, deserving to be a ruling party with the authorization and faith of the people. To do that, the Party has focused on the following points:

First, continuing to renew the way of theoretical thinking and further clarify the goal of national independence and socialism. Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought by their nature are to thoroughly liberate class, nation and humankind from oppression and inequality. In a country, invaded and ruled by several invaders, like Vietnam, national liberation is the top priority. National independence is the sacred desire and the prerequisite for building and developing the country. From the struggle for national independence of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh came to the truth: Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom. He also emphasized: if the country is independent, but its people can’t enjoy happiness and freedom, that independence is meaningless. Independence, freedom and happiness unite in the lofty goal of Party-led revolution. When applying Marxism-Leninism into Vietnam’s reality, Ho Chi Minh stated that “Socialism is how to make the people wealthy and the country strong”. Socialism is to bring everyone prosperity, freedom and happiness and opportunities to study, to be cared, and to have good accommodations; children are nurtured, and the elderly are taken care. That is Ho Chi Minh’s thought on socialism which has been realized by the Party during the country’s reform process.

From a colony ruled by French Colonialists, Japanese Fascists and US Imperialists, Vietnam resiliently and persistently fought to become a unified, independent country. Nowadays, the national independence is strengthened firmly, and the national interests are of top priority. Independence, sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity, and political regime led by the Communist Party of Vietnam have been built up and developed sustainably. The country has developed socialist-oriented market economy, maintained independence and self-reliance in the context of international integration; peace environment for the people is protected by the constitution and law. The Homeland is firmly safeguarded with the all people’s national defence, the people’s security and the revolutionary, regular, seasoned, gradually modern people’s armed forces. Those are fundamental contents on national independence in association with socialism.

Upholding, developing and flexibly applying Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, and from practice of national renewal, the Communist Party of Vietnam is increasingly fully aware of socialism and the path to socialism. The whole Party, people and Army are striving to quickly realized Vietnam an industrialized  country towards modernity. “The general goal by the end of transitional period of the country is to build an economic foundation for socialism with a suitable political, ideological, cultural superstructure, creating favourable conditions for Vietnam to become an increasingly prosperous and happy socialist country”.

Second, preventing and pushing back the degradation in political ideology among a number of cadres and party members. This is an urgent issue for Party building. Reality shows that a number of cadres and party members are not fully aware of and even have signs of degradation in political ideology. To deal with this problem, the Party issued the Central Resolution No.4 (12th tenure) on strengthening the Party building and rectification, preventing degradation in political ideology and morality, as well as signs of internal “self evolution” and “self transformation”. The Resolution has clearly displayed 9 signs of degradation in political ideology, emphasizing the signs, namely “the deterioration in revolutionary ideal, being inconsistent in the goal of national independence and socialism, being skeptical in Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought”; “Divergence from the Party’s guidelines; having no steadfastness in the path to socialism; encouraging wrongful awareness and viewpoints; “Misunderstanding the significance and the importance of political theory; being lazy in studying Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Party’ guidelines and resolutions, the State’s policy and law”. By analyzing that fact, a part from pointing out the objective reasons, the Party strongly emphasized the subjective reasons: “cadres and party members are in lack of self-improvement; being reluctant in ideological stance, and impacted by external factors”; “the task of political and ideological education for cadres and party members on Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, explaining and studying the Party’s resolutions have been inadequate and ineffective, contents and methods of education have not been renewed”. To address these issues, the Party drew up groups of tasks and measures, first and foremost on the work of politics and ideology: “Focusing on the leadership and management over raising the entire Party’s awareness of the significance, role, importance and necessity of studying, flexibly applying and developing Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought. Making annual plans on studying and improving political theory for cadres and party members, in line with updating information and new knowledge for each group of people, level, sector and locality”. That is the foundation for enhancing the Party’s revolutionary and scientific nature, the leadership capability and combat strength, while preventing and pushing back the degradation in political ideology among a number of cadres and party members, as well as signs of internal “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”.

Third, resolutely fighting against the hostile forces, protecting the Party’s ideological and theoretical foundation. This is a basic, frequent and important task of the Party building. The threat of “self-evolution” is one of the four threats recognized by the Party in 1994. The 12th National Party Congress claimed that those four threats still existed and even more complicated. The threat of “self-evolution” posed by the hostile forces with new tricks: “particularly making best use of media and the internet to sabotage the Party, and the signs of internal “self-evolution”, “self-transformation” occurring in the political, ideological, economic, cultural fields and lifestyle. But the most dangerous one is in the field of political ideology.

To defeat plots and tricks of the hostile forces, the whole Party should seriously study, flexibly apply and develop Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, strengthen and firmly defend the Party’s ideological and theoretical foundation to build the socialist regime, to develop a prosperous country, and to ensure the people’s freedom and happiness. Also, it should always heighten vigilance, attach great importance to internal political protection, while resolutely preventing and pushing back the degradation in political ideology, morality and lifestyle among a number of cadres and party members.

Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought equip the Party and every cadre and party member with necessary scientific theory, methodology and revolutionary methods to overcome difficulties and challenges, develop the country in its selected ideal and path.

Assoc Prof. Nguyen Trong Phuc, PhD