Development of modern social democracy in Vietnam


After wars, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the country has been developing toward the socialism. However, there are quite a lot of people do not comprehend the socialist goals and therefore do not totally believe in those targets. Especially, some even assume that the socialism has no democracy. So, this article would clarify what is social democracy? And, how it is more advanced than capitalist one?
Social democracy originated as a political ideology that advocated an evolutionary and peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism using established political processes in contrast to the revolutionary approach to transition associated with orthodox Marxism. That’s what has happened in Vietnam, though the country evolved from feudalism, skipping capitalist phase. Now, CPV, armed with the Ho Chi Minh’s thought, has firmly led the nation to social democratic values, equality, social justice and freedom.
Moreover, drawing experience from the collapse of Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, CPV has reformed and adapted the Marxism on socialism in a modern way that is suitable with the country’s background and circumstance. Modern social democracy is characterized by a commitment to policies aimed at curbing inequality, oppression of underprivileged groups, and poverty; including support for universally accessible public services likecare for the elderly, child care, education, health care, and workers' compensation. The social democratic movement also has strong connections with the labour movement and trade unions, and is supportive of collective bargaining rights for workers as well as measures to extend democratic decision-making beyond politics into the economic sphere in the form of co-determination for employees and other economic stakeholders.
Karl Marx—whose work is particularly relevant in our era of “globalization”—recognized that capitalism represented an increase in human freedom and productive power. Under feudalism, political and economic life had been merged. Born a serf, one remained a serf, subject to the political and economic domination of one’s lord. Capitalism freed the economic sphere from the domination of the political. Under capitalism, the worker and capitalist contracted with one another free of the burdens of traditional religious or status relations. Though the rise of capitalist economic relations in Europe predates political democracy by over two centuries, the rhetoric of freedom of contract and legal equality that arose during capitalism’s infancy in the 17th century contributed to the growth of movements for political democracy. In a capitalist democracy, one’s economic status, in theory, does not affect one’s political and legal status. All members of society are to be judged equally before the law and have the equal right to participate politically (one person, one vote). But Marx illustrated that the inequalities in “civil society” (or economic life) undercut the promise of political equality. In the political “free market” for votes, capital has more influence than labor, and this structural inequality erodes the promise of political democracy.
We cannot accept capitalism’s conception of economic relations as “free and private,” because contracts are not made among economic equals and because they give rise to social structures which undemocratically confer power upon some over others. Such relationships are undemocratic in that the citizens involved have not freely deliberated upon the structure of those institutions and how social roles should be distributed within them (e.g., the relationship between capital and labor in the workplace or men and women in child rearing). We do not imagine that all institutional relations would wither away under socialism, but we do believe that the basic contours of society must be democratically constructed by the free deliberation of its members.
Marx did not only argue that capitalism undermined democracy. He argued against the very essence of it as an economic system. In his analysis, capitalism was an exploitative mode of production in which the capitalist class extracted “surplus value” from the working class. For the first time in human history, labor power itself was sold as a free commodity on the market. No longer were people slaves or serfs to their masters. Workers were free to sell their labor power to whatever capitalist chose to employ them. But the asymmetry of power in this alleged “free exchange” is that while the capitalist class owns the means of production, the working class only has their labor power to sell. This asymmetry means that while capitalists pay labor a “living wage,” the value of this wage (the value of labor power) is always less than the value of the commodities produced by the workers’ labor—if capital could not make a profit it would not employ labor. Workers’ needs under capitalism are always subordinate to the bottom line.
In Vietnam now, the social democracy aims to overcome these disadvantages and provide all workers a fair constract to benefit themselves and the country./.
Chia sẻ bài viết ^^
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All comments [ 10 ]

Gentle Moon 20/3/17 14:22

Democracy possesses many commonly held values of humankind, however the development process of democracy differs from country to country.

Jane smartnic 20/3/17 14:23

In Viet Nam, democracy boasts typical characteristics that made the country's regime different from others.

Love Peace 20/3/17 14:24

The current socialist democratic regime in Viet Nam is the first ever democratic regime in the country's political history.

Pack Cassiopian 20/3/17 14:25

Viet Nam 's first democratic regime was born during the national liberation revolution and it was the fruit of the entire people's struggle for liberation under the leadership of a communist party.

Deck Hero14 20/3/17 14:26

Viet Nam 's first democratic regime had its roots in a struggle to win and defend national independence for which generations of Vietnamese people had contributed not only their brainpower but also sacrificed their blood.

Only Solidar 20/3/17 14:27

Viet Nam has built its concepts on citizens' rights and obligations, as well as institutional tools and mechanisms to implement democracy around this philosophy.

MaskOf Zero 20/3/17 14:28

In many cases, the country viewed national independence and freedom the same as democracy and equality in the meaning of the right to exist and develop like other nations.

yobro yobro 20/3/17 14:29

The socialist democratic regime was the evolvement of democracy at a higher degree.-of-democracy-in-viet-nam.html#bPm4i4uTSHJYMtu3.99

LawrenceSamuels 20/3/17 14:30

It is noticeable that though still under construction, the socialist democratic regime in Viet Nam has brought into full play its pre-eminent characteristics.

John Smith 20/3/17 14:32

The principle of a single, strongly focused political party seems to be the most suitable solution to Viet Nam.

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