National Day September 2 is also the day when many people reflect on which socialism the country is heading to and what is the country’s future in a few years or decades.
Can the Pearl of the Far East be shimmering as it once was? Whether in a thousand years of civilization, can the original national spirit be revived? Will justice be revealed so that the anger of the ordinary people can be cooled down?
A few mania episodes saw firewood being added to the furnace (corrupted state officials were punished), mixed with still pessimistic moods. Lawyer Le Quoc Quan exclaimed, “It is true that no economy can afford to feed “parasites” when he reads the data which shows that on average, every 9 people have to feed one government official.” It is sadder as corruption became systemic and the number of public employees who sincerely serve the people is very rare.
A bold statement on Facebook by journalist Nguyen Tien Tuong sounds even sourer: “After all, our country is led by a group of people who lie so much that they cannot tell the truth …”.
“… The construction of Socialism (socialism) is still a long way. By the end of this century, it is not known whether there has been complete socialism in Vietnam“- the very honest words of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong during a session of the National Assembly in 2013.
Recently, on June 10, Mr. Phung Huu Phu, vice chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, also revealed that what the progress of the country was in transition “is a very problematic issue, unknown, long time” and need further research.
Commenting on this issue, Dr. Dinh Duc Long said: “They don’t define socialism. The world has no perfect model of socialism. Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong once said that by the end of this century, we cannot see the perfect socialism. How to do for a thing which has not been touched by someone?”
When he was the Minister of Planning and Investment, Bui Quang Vinh also said frankly: “We keep studying that model, but we cannot find it. We cannot find a thing that does not exist. The thing that he mentioned is the “socialist-oriented market.”
Dr. Nguyen Quang A said: “Actually the economic regime they built in Vietnam today is a barbaric capitalist regime, nothing is socialist. They act like rich capitalists but they still keep those words to deceive people.”
Speaking at the UN General Assembly, US President Donald Trump cites Venezuela, and said that “socialism has bankrupted an oil-rich country and pushed its people into poverty.”
“Almost wherever socialism or communism has been tested, they have also caused suffering, corruption, and poverty,” he added.
National Day September 2, also a chance to look back on the path to socialism of the country today, female TV director Song Chi has an analysis titled: “There are many ways to go, but the Communist Party of Vietnam. resolutely choose the worst path.”
Only from the twentieth century up to now, humanity has experimented with many different political-institutional models, including a communist or Marxist socialism model that the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist countries used to apply, and it also existed in Vietnam and China.
In theory, it is a classless society, everyone is completely equal, no private property, no private economy, a centralized state economy subsidized and managed by the state, etc.
Let’s not talk about dictatorship, without democratic freedom, such “ideals” alone could not be successfully implemented, and countries following that model completely failed, even Vietnam and China.
Everyone knows that in Vietnam or China now, although still led by the Communist Party, in terms of name Vietnam still keeps the phrase “Socialist Republic of Vietnam” and China is “the People’s Republic of China.” But they are really just one-party authoritarian states, with wild-era capitalist economies.
These two countries completely went against the “ideals,” the original theories, theories of socialism, communism, which they once praised and used it to paint the “paradise” to disgrace the people.
In Vietnam or China there is absolutely no social equality, no security, no social welfare at all, everything is money, going to school or going to a doctor, going to a hospital, etc., people have to pay.
Now, the model of communist-style socialism must only have … North Korea. Even Cuba has also “changed color” somewhat!
Nordic countries are always highly appreciated for their quality of life, income equality, gender equality, and freedom of the press, and are always in the top 5 in the world on The Human Development Index, The Democracy Index, are the happiest countries in the annual World Happiness Report, and also the countries with the lowest crime rates in the world, etc.
Some people think that the Nordic model is closer to the ideal socialist concept, but it must be immediately said that there is nothing in common between this model of Social Democracy and the communist model of socialism led by all communist parties.
Canada, France, Germany, Australia … also have a social welfare system that provides universal health care and higher education for their citizens.
While America is a purely capitalist country, everything is the market, people have to compete a lot to survive, which makes the remarkable development of America.
Looking back around the world, the countries that are rich and strong, developed, people have a free and happy life are all countries that choose the model of freedom, democracy, multi-party, and separation of three branches of power. Whether it is a constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy such as Great Britain, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Sweden, Norway, etc. in Europe or Japan in Asia, parliamentary-federal model like Germany, a semi-presidential republic like France, the federal republic (the presidential regime) operated under a two-party system in most of its history like the United States, etc.
In contrast, in authoritarian countries like Vietnam, because there is no mechanism to control and limit the power of the party and its government, from the National Assembly, the government, the law to the media are all part of the Communist Party’s control, if people criticize the government, the regime will harash or imprison them so the party and the state will do whatever they want.
Consequently, in Vietnam, people have absolutely no democratic freedom, human rights have not been respected and the economic gap is too great, social injustice is plentiful, people pay all kinds of taxes but cannot enjoy any support from the state, crumbling education, degrading social morality, heavily polluted living environment, corruption becoming an indestructible “national disaster” …
Regarding foreign affairs, on the one hand, Vietnam has no allies because the ruling party does not dare to ally with any other country, on the other hand, it is deeply embedded in the asymmetrical and dangerous relationship with China, which costs territorial waters and often under threat of sovereignty.
Among the remaining communist-led countries in the world, only China is rich and strong, and has ambitions to rise to occupy the world’s leading position in many aspects of the US, but lacks freedom, democracy, poor human rights record or social injustice, environmental pollution, etc. like Vietnam. The Chinese Communist Party is not just as cruel to its people as the Communist Party of Vietnam but also with other ethnic groups such as Tibet, Uighur, and the Falun Gong practitioners. China has scared the world. Externally, China has absolutely no “soft power,” no real allies, the view of most countries in the world towards China is negative and wary.
Since its establishment up to now, the Communist Party of Vietnam has caused countless mistakes and crimes against the nation, stemming from choosing a false theory, choosing a bad institutional model. In the early days, it could be excused because of ignorance, studying in the Soviet Union and the former Eastern European socialist countries, but until now there is no excuse other than that the party firmly keeps its bad political model just because they want to survive in expenses of other people.
Coming on September 2. This year, the party and the Vietnamese government will celebrate quite solemnly because this is the 75th anniversary of the Communist Party’s chosen day of the Vietnam National Day: September 2, 1945.
With the “long history” of 75 years in power in the North and 45 years of monopoly power across the country, the Communist Party certainly never wants to change because it doesn’t want to give up power. The problem is how long the 95-96 million people can suffer further?
Thoibao.de (Translated)