Market, Marxism, Nationalism

• Vietnam celebrated its 50th anniversary of its triumph against the United States and its reunification in April 1975.

• The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led a long phase of revolutionary wars and struggles against colonialism, French reoccupation, and U.S. intervention from 1925.

• Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the CPV, established the Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League in Guangzhou, China, in 1925.

• Today, the CPV governs Vietnam as a single party political system, characterized by a strong market-based economy.

• The Vietnamese experience of blending market reforms and communist leadership, known as “socialist-oriented developmentalism,” was a consequence of its experience during the decade that followed the end of the Vietnam War.

• The CPV practiced orthodox socialist policies until 1986, including a centrally planned economy, nationalization of industries, collectivisation of agriculture into cooperatives, and emphasis on heavy industry.

• The economic transformation led to the ‘Doi Moi’ or Renovation, which included de-collectivisation of agriculture, price liberalisation, and allowing small-scale private enterprise.

• By the late-1990s, the CPV promoted trade agreements, entry into the WTO, developed institutions to facilitate a functioning market economy, allowed the private sector to lead economic growth, and deepened SOE reforms.

• Despite rapid economic growth, Vietnam’s Gini coefficient is 36, one of the lowest in Southeast Asia.

• The transition of the country’s communist party leadership since 1986 indicates economic and political trends.

• The CPV is distinguished by its adherence to collective leadership and decision-making driven by consensus and the distinct lack of any personality cult.

• Ho Chi Minh was inextricably linked to the vicissitudes of the communist movement in the country, seeking independence from colonialism while being a socialist.