Ho Chi Minh’s Thought is a fundamental component of the Party’s ideological foundation, serving as a beacon that guides the Vietnamese revolution and as an invaluable spiritual legacy of our Party, State, and people. In an era marked by both opportunities and complex challenges, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought continues to illuminate the nation’s path forward, inspiring aspirations for development, providing a powerful source of spiritual strength for Vietnam’s steady advance towards the era of national rise.
Ho Chi Minh’s Thought - the ideological foundation and guiding principle of the Communist Party of Vietnam
In the early twentieth century, Vietnam faced a crisis over the path to national salvation. Driven by a deep aspiration to gain independence and freedom for the nation, the young patriot Nguyen Tat Thanh, later known as Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh, embarked on a historic journey abroad on 5 June 1911, in search of a path to save his country.
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| President Ho Chi Minh delivers a political lecture to overseas Vietnamese revolutionaries (illustrative picture/qdnd.vn) |
Through his revolutionary activities and his study of Marxism - Leninism and under the influence of the Russian October Revolution, Nguyen Ai Quoc found the right path to liberate his nation and other oppressed peoples. He determined that, in the modern era, there was no viable path to national independence and liberation other than the road of proletarian revolution. Achieving this goal required a genuine, strong, and disciplined revolutionary party of the working class to lead the struggle, while the national liberation movement had to be part of the proletarian revolution. On that basis, on 3 February 1930, in Hong Kong, China, on behalf of the Communist International, Nguyen Ai Quoc chaired the conference to unite three communist organisations and establish the Communist Party of Vietnam, marking a historic turning point for the Vietnamese revolution.
After its establishment, the Communist Party of Vietnam developed and implemented its revolutionary lines in accordance with Ho Chi Minh’s Thought and achieved glorious victories. Thus, the 2nd National Congress of the Party stated: “The entire Party should make every effort to study President Ho Chi Minh’s political lines, working style, and revolutionary morality; such study is a prerequisite for strengthening the Party and helping the revolution advance quickly towards complete victory”. At its 7th National Congress, the Party clearly affirmed: “The Party takes Marxism - Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought as its ideological foundation and guiding principle for action and democratic centralism as its basic organisational principle”. At its 9th National Congress, the Party defined Ho Chi Minh’s Thought as follows: “Ho Chi Minh’s Thought is a comprehensive and profound system of views on the fundamental issues of the Vietnamese revolution. It represents the creative application and development of Marxism - Leninism in the specific conditions of Vietnam, while inheriting and enriching the nation’s finest traditional values and assimilating the cultural achievements of humanity.… Ho Chi Minh’s Thought has guided our people’s struggle to victory and is a great spiritual asset of our Party and nation”.
The Platform for National Construction in the Transitional Period to Socialism (supplemented and developed in 2011) summarised: “Ho Chi Minh’s Thought is a comprehensive and profound system of views on the fundamental issues of the Vietnamese revolution. It reflects creative application and development of Marxism - Leninism in the specific conditions of Vietnam, combined with the inheritance and promotion of the nation’s finest traditional values and the assimilation of humanity’s cultural achievements. Ho Chi Minh’s Thought has become an immensely valuable spiritual asset of our Party and nation, forever guiding the revolutionary cause of the Vietnamese people towards victory”.
Ho Chi Minh’s Thought is rooted in the absorption, inheritance, and development of the nation’s fine traditional values, the cultural achievements of humanity, and the progressive values of the era. On a rich and solid cultural foundation and with a broad vision of his times, he embraced Marxism - Leninism, particularly its fundamental worldview as well as its scientific and revolutionary methodology. Therefore, his Thought not only embraces the common cultural and civilisational values of the nation, humanity, and the era, but also embodies independence, self-reliance, and creativity. Developed over many years of revolutionary practice and theoretical reflection, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought is neither dogmatic nor rigid. Instead, it is characterised by innovation, openness, and flexibility, while consistently respecting and fostering the progressive cultural values of other nations and of humanity throughout history.
Ho Chi Minh’s Thought - an enduring roadmap for Vietnam’s era of national rise
The era of national rise represents a new stage in Vietnam’s development, bringing unprecedented opportunities and favourable conditions while also posing many difficulties and challenges to the cause of national construction and defence. In this context, as its first guiding viewpoint, our Party clearly affirms: “Remain steadfast in, creatively apply, and develop Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, and the doctrine on the renewal policy; remain steadfastness in the goal of national independence and socialism;…”. Ho Chi Minh’s Thought retains its enduring value, forming a fundamental pillar of the Party’s ideological foundation, serving as a guiding principle for the national development.
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| Illustrative photo |
Guiding the strategic goals of national development in the era of national rise. Ho Chi Minh’s Thought consistently affirms that national independence closely linked with socialism is the fundamental and enduring objective of the Vietnamese revolution. This represents not only a strategic choice of revolutionary path but also a long-term orientation for the cause of building and defending the Socialist Vietnamese Fatherland. Accordingly, throughout every revolutionary stage, from the struggle for national independence and reunification to the construction and protection of the Fatherland, the ultimate goal has remained unchanged: to build a peaceful, unified, independent, democratic, and prosperous Vietnam where all people enjoy prosperity, freedom, and happiness. Entering the new era, our Party defines the national development goals as follows: “…by 2030 Vietnam will have become a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle-income status, and by 2045 a developed, high-income nation for a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, civilised, and happy Vietnam, steadily advancing towards socialism”. This represents the inheritance, creative application, and development of Ho Chi Minh’s Thought on the path and goals of national development under new conditions.
Guiding the driving force of national development in the era of national rise. Throughout the process of leading the Vietnamese revolution, together with our Party, President Ho Chi Minh always attached special importance to the role of great national unity - an internal motivation decisive to every victory. He believed that the masses are both the goal and the subject that creates history, as well as the source of revolutionary strength. In his words, “Nothing in the world is more precious than the masses. Nothing in the world is stronger than the united strength of the masses”.
In the era of national rise, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought continues to guide our Party in bringing into full play the internal strength for national construction and development. Remaining faithful to and creatively applying Ho Chi Minh’s Thought under new conditions, our Party clearly defines the guiding viewpoint: “Strongly promote the tradition of patriotism, the aspiration for development, the spirit of solidarity, the will for independence, self-confidence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, and national pride; harness the strength of culture and people as internal resources and powerful driving force for development”. At the same time, the Party emphasises the need to “strongly promote the people’s role as the subject of development, advance socialist democracy, and fully unleash the strength of the people and the great national unity bloc”. This reflects a profound understanding of the principle that “the people are the root”, recognising them as the driving force behind the cause of national renewal, construction, and protection.
Guiding the establishment of foundations for success in the era of national rise. Ho Chi Minh’s Thought provides a foundational framework that guides and ensures the country’s rapid and sustainable development in the new era.
First of all, President Ho Chi Minh attached special importance to building a clean and strong Party, considering this a decisive factor behind every revolutionary victory. As he emphasised, “Only when the Party is strong can the revolution succeed, just as a boat can move forward only when its helmsman is capable and steady”. Thoroughly implementing and further developing his Thought, the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress stresses: “Continue to strengthen the building and rectification of a clean and comprehensively strong Party; enhance the Party’s leadership and ruling capacity and combativeness; step up Party building, rectification, and self-renewal so that ours is a truly moral and civilised Party”. Along with Party building, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought on a State of the people, by the people, and for the people continues to provide important guidance for the process of building and perfecting a modern, streamlined, effective, efficient, and well-functioning socialist rule-of-law State of Vietnam, as well as for improving development institutions, enhancing the quality of national governance, reforming public administration, accelerating digital transformation, and increasingly serving the interests of the people.
Furthermore, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought clearly identifies the dialectical relationship between national construction and protection. This thought continues to guide our Party in creatively building and strengthening all-people national defence, the posture of all-people national defence, people’s security, and the posture of people’s security, in close association with a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” and proactive, strong defensive zones, as well as in closely and effectively combining national defence and security with economic, cultural, and social development and foreign affairs. At the same time, on the basis of Ho Chi Minh’s Thought on combining national strength with the strength of the times, our Party determines: “Consistently implement a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, and multilateralisation and diversification of foreign relations,…”, thereby developing foreign affairs in the new era in line with the nation’s historical stature, cultural identity, and growing position in the world.
As Vietnam enters a new era of development, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought continues to serve as a road map for the country’s development path. Therefore, remaining steadfast in, applying, and creatively developing Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought and the theory on the Party’s renewal policy represent a fundamental principle for realising the aspiration of building a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, civilised, happy nation, firmly advancing towards socialism.
Associate Prof. VU QUANG VINH, PhD
Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics