Being from a family so entwined with the history of Vietnam, I can’t
help but think about it’s future. Yet having been born and raised
in the US with little political indoctrination, I have not taken the
opportunity to identify with, let alone become involved with the
country that could have been my home. So my thoughts are only
mildly, possibly badly informed by the reality of life in a country so
far away. On the other hand, I also have fewer preconcieved
notions or deep convictions about either side of the war. My
concerns and musings have little to do with recriminations for past
wrongs. The direction of the future, the protection of the
country from another debilitating civil war, the preservation of
culture against blind progress concern me more.
Hense what is put down here.
This is rather badly written, unsupported by any documentation, most
likely unoriginal, and
possibly even self-contridictory. But that what you get with a
stream of thoughs on a given subject. It’s a hint, a shadow of
what little of my brain is dedicated to politcal/economic/and social
theory. But
hopefully by writing them down, I’ll be able to refine these ideas when
I get back to them. I figure if I just let them echo in my head,
they won’t be subject to proper critical scrutiny. They won’t be
formed with any rigor, and thus end up useless. Hopefully I’ll
come back someday and see how these ideas stand up to the test of time,
knowledge and history. Maybe with answers to some of the question
raised by these thoughts, concrete solutions to vauge directives.
Not being an avid study of a broad
range of political theory, I may be missing something… but the
doesn’t the idea of “free market Marxism” seems to be a
contradiction?
I’m reading a BBC article(s)
about doi moi (they translate it as ‘renovation’, though I think a
better translation would be ‘new era’) . Vietnam seem to be
following the path of China, but benefiting from having a much
smaller country to rule.
From what I gather, the opening of
the economy is also allowing, at least academically, the opening of
thought and ideas from the rest of the world. With one catch. While
the economy and academia are opening, the government is still very much
closed and in the grips of the one party communist system.
It struck me that thing have not
really improved beyond the mandarin system that both sides of the war
so fiercely fought to liberate themselves from. A
government ruled by buerocrats that rise through the ranks by sometimes
by merit, more often through bribery and nepotism. A market economy.
Corrupt officials that are
bribed one way or another. And a government ruled by the desire for
political stability above all else.
The only difference seems to be the
absence of an emperor. In the end though, that difference may
be the key to the future . As far as I know, after Ho Chi Minh, there was not great leader at the helm. A party, a ruling body, has no single point of failure.
No emperor to topple and replace. No single person whose whims could
lead a nation to disaster. Unfortunately, as with any group of
people… this means decisions and change happen at a snails pace.
In the beginning, the Vietnamese
Communist party was most likely a collaboration of well meaning
Marxist and power hungry opportunist. One decision of the revolution: the elimination of the best
intellectual and political resources of the country, crippled the country for years. This happened
so easily because the idea fit both groups so well, Marx meets
Machiavelli. No one to rise above the common person, no one to
challenge the new regime.
Time passes. The true believers will
begin to see the damage their mistakes have done. Corruption from
centralized power. Lack of skilled people that provide the
infrastructure
required to run an effective planned government/economy. The
absence of the intellectual capacity to manage a political economy.
Time passes. The opportunist grow
complacent in their ill gotten comforts. A generation of minds may
be indoctrinated with the party line, but they can see for themselves
the disaster of it’s faulty tenants. The well meaning see the problems
with a government so set in protecting it’s power that it ignores the
failures of it’s policies. That there must be something wrong
with a country filled with people either too poor to care, too scared
to fix things, or too busy taking advantage of their power to care
about the rot around them.
And by a coincident, history
provides the means for redemption: the decision to move to a market
economy. The opportunists see an avenue for more gain, patriots see a
chance to fix the failures of a political economy and give a better
life back to the people. Both sides give it a green light. Only this
time, greed will hopefully work against the tyrants and opportunists
and for the people.
A market economy demands an opening of
ideas. Success can only be achieved through more knowledge.
Knowledge that can only be gained through the free flow of
information. There will first be a generation concerned only with
the generation of wealth long denied them. Soon this generation will
realize that while corruption can grease the wheels of their success,
it also becomes an impediment. Greedy corrupt officials will at some
point demand too much. And that’s where the first change happens.
Corruption will be hunted down at the behest of growing wealth
and power. Those that persist in their greed will be ousted. Those
who are smarter will halt the wheels of progress less and less,
becoming mere annoyances.
Freed of the work microscopically of directing an economy, a greater
emphasis can be placed on social and political problems. If they’re smart: better health, greater
safety, controlled infrastructure development, less corruption will result. For a time, this also
means that the party will fight a futile battle to control the flow
of information against them. To repress opposing points of view,
often brutally. But this too will change with time.
After another generation, there will
come one that begins to see beyond the day to day generation of
wealth. One that has a wider range of experience, education,
information, knowledge afforded by greater wealth. Some of this generation will begin the
journey to rise into the ranks of the ruling political body.
In a few more generations, we will
begin to have an enlightened ruling party. One less constrained by
ideology and more by the successful governing. One that
recognizes and roots out detrimental corruption. While opposing
views will still be strictly controlled, at least they will begin to
be considered. Internal and external pressures will collide to force
more transparency in government. And here is the crucial moment.
If the ruling party fights too hard to
maintain absolute control, overt revolution will result. The
government will topple to be replaced with chaos. If the party gives
in too quickly, it will be opening the doors to Babel. Too many
voices pulling the political system in too many directions. Both
open the door for a leader to rise, pulling the country into another
cycle topping tyrants.
It must walk a fine line. The party
must give up enough power to become accountable to the people, but
not ruled by them. More people must be given power through merit
than through fortune of relation. The governing process must be open
and transparent enough that the people can ensure that this is truly
the case. The party must be willing to admit wrong doing, to change
directions as needed, and to expel the cancer of corruption.
The revolution started so many years
ago turns out to be an evolution. We end up not with a socialist
state, not a feudalistic madarin bureaucracy, but a Republic
ruled by an roundly educated body politic.