The Socialist with Oriented Market Economy: No Road?

General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong wished the New Year to the people and workers at Thanh Nien Street (Hanoi City)

The latest report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment shows that the socialist-oriented market economy institution in Vietnam, in general, is still far from the common standards of a modern market economy and international integration.

This is news reported by the domestic media on December 25, 2020, through which the Ministry of Planning and Investment has assessed that Vietnam’s socialist-oriented market-based economy institution has many shortcomings, inconsistencies, and incomplete requirements in order to ensure smooth and efficient operation of the market.

According to the ministry, the completion of the institution is slow, causing difficulties for the process of enhancing national competitiveness and hindering the process of promoting innovation in the context of the association. import.

Since the mid-1980s, with the renovation policy, Vietnam has affirmed itself as a market economy institution in the socialist orientation (socialist).

For Professor Ngo Vinh Long, University of Maine, USA, who is interested and knowledgeable about the economic situation of Vietnam, the socialist-oriented market economy is Hanoi’s innovation commands with slogan “market economy with special Chinese colors” that Beijing launched earlier:

Therefore, Vietnam says that it follows a market economy mechanism with a socialist tail. But since it was called Renovation from 1986 to now, although the economy has risen, the problem of social justice and class discrimination is increasingly strong. If developing but only the top can get the wealth in the country, it is correct to say incomplete.”

This is the slogan they put up but they are mistaken, they argue over concepts, they don’t properly measure the economic and social developments. With a very difficult society, even if the economy is highly developed, only one group gets benefits, it is not successful.”

What must be highlighted is the socialist-oriented market economy because this is a process that seems to be undetermined up to now, has not been clarified, although it has been said a lot, is the analysis of economic researcher

The socialist orientation can be to enrich the people, create social justice, can also be defined as the need to control power as the Secretary-General and President have repeatedly emphasized control power abuse of some officials in the State apparatus.”

I think Vietnam needs to quickly define what its socialist orientation is. Because China also says it has a unique Chinese market economy, the Federal Republic of Germany says there is a socioeconomic market. Each country has different content about the market economy, the problem here is to define suitable content for that market economy to operate in a more effective way. The key is to exercise fair competition and prevent power abuse.”

As for Dr. Ngo Tri Long, former Deputy Director of the Market Institute for Prices, whether or not to move to a market economy in accordance with the socialist orientation, there are many problems:

To put it bluntly, to ask the Central Theoretical Committee, the Central Theoretical Council, if they point it out, they have to be clearer. The socialist-oriented market economy is, theoretically, but in fact far away.”

Vietnam has not been able to build a full and modern market economy, with many shortcomings in integration conditions. From a centrally planned, bureaucratic, and subsidized economy to a market economy, this is still a transition. Incomplete, missing something is now considered, discussed. For example, price liberalization is a problem or must meet the law of the market, there must be those factors.”

The report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment cited an assessment from the World Economic Forum in 2019, showing that Vietnam ranked 67 in the 4.0 competitiveness index.

Workers inspect the quality of silk products for export

The Institutional Components Index is still among the lowest-ranked group, ie 89th. In addition, the innovation index increased 3 places, from 45 to 42, but the Institutional Components Index back down to 3 steps, from 78 to 81.

According to independent researcher Le Dang Doanh, such hierarchical figures show that after 34 years of reform, Vietnam’s socialist-oriented market economy institution is also gradually integrating internationally, although course:

Despite progress, Vietnam’s institutions are having problems, and the Vietnamese apparatus needs to continue to operate more efficiently. This is also reflected in the report of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, VCCI, which states the proportion of businesses that have to pay non-legal costs and lobby costs, although it has decreased but still about 56%.”

I think discovery is a step forward in the spirit of vision. The issue now is to actively implement reforms to improve the competitiveness of Vietnam’s economy, products, and services.”

Mr. Nguyen Khac Mai, former director of the Research Department, Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, must look at the current state of development of Vietnam to see the market economy but also add a tail of mastery direction. Social meaning is a forced argument, swap the concept:

In the past, it was eloquent ‘go fast, go hard, go straight, go firmly to socialism,’ in the end, there were not enough clothes to wear, not enough food to eat. The year 1986 was forced to innovate, go into the market economy while still sticking to the socialist orientation. The market economy allows for private, multi-sector economists, then foreign trade, which was previously controlled by the State to no one to do, now many sectors are traded internationally.”

But if that is the case, then it is clear that the communists want to be capitalism is a traitor, so the dignity exposing the tail is socialist orientation.”

That is the contradiction point of the socialist-oriented market economy institution in Vietnam, explained Mr. Nguyen Khac Mai:

It is still planning, administration, that is, the party issues resolutions to do the economy, not to let economic facilities develop naturally. The paradox, the contradiction, is wanting to be capital, but using the communist approach, taking the State over and taking the state as the main.”

So is it true that Vietnam’s socialist-oriented market economy is incomplete because there are still many shortcomings and far from popular standards of a modern, integrated market like the Ministry of Planning- Investment points out? Mr. Nguyen Khac Mai replied;

That should also be seen as a step forward. It is possible that this is a progressive group within the party that has begun to see the truth but dare not speak to the end, not going to the end, but only saying that there are not enough methods of the market economy. To put it mildly, this is the step of admitting failure.”

The biggest failure, which is the inadvertent path of Vietnam’s socialist-oriented market economy institution is the ambiguous and outdated socialist tail for the past 34 years. Mr. Nguyen Khac Mai made a comparison:

Vietnam spends a lot of money twice as much as South Korea, spending time equal to 2 times that of Korea and Vietnam cannot form a decent economy like Korea. Vietnam does not have advanced science and technology and education, no legal system to regulate the modern life of society from 1986 until now.”

With a market economy institution accompanied by a socialist orientation, but the legal policy is arbitrary, it is not accurate to go forever, Mr. Nguyen Khac Mai concluded.

Thoibao.de (Translated)

Source: https://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/market-economy-with-socialism-orientation-going-nowhere-12302020120520.html

Kasse animation 7.8.2023