“Politics is necessary for each individual and the whole society”

In the 2008 university entrance exam, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU will enroll the first class of students majoring in Political Science. According to public opinion, this is a new major with many prospects and especially in the future, the demand of society for human resources trained in this field will be very large. Regarding this issue, Prof. Dr. Hoang Chi Bao, Standing Member of the Scientific Council of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, one of the leading experts in Political Science, had an interview with us.

- PV:As a scientist with many years of research on Political Science, how does the Professor evaluate the role of Political Science in social life?

- Prof. Dr. Hoang Chi Bao: The four areas of life, including politics - economics - culture - society, as Ho Chi Minh said, are equally important, and no area should be overlooked. Politics plays a particularly important role in social life. Because talking about politics means talking about the issue of power, state management and social management. Lenin once said: "People need economics to avoid starvation, need politics to avoid killing themselves. If you do not understand politics, you cannot take conscious action to exercise your own power..."

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2008/6/16/gs.hcbao-m.jpg" border="0" alt="Prof. Dr. Hoang Chi Bao" title="Prof. Dr. Hoang Chi Bao" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="240" height="193" align="right" ]

In short, Political Science is the science that studies politics. From politics to Political Science is a process. Political Science studies politics from many perspectives: studying politics from the perspective of political people requires studying political consciousness, political beliefs, and political behavior of individuals. Politics also studies relationships; processes, political trends, institutional models, strategies, policies, and political technology... It can be said that Political Science is the philosophy of politics, focusing on studying political theory, providing basic and systematic understanding of the principles and laws of politics so that they can be applied to political activities in specific conditions.

Political science is necessary for both society and each individual. Firstly, living in a political society (that is, societies with classes and the State), people cannot help but understand this field, to become political people, proactive, self-aware and creative. Secondly, politics is needed to form institutions, build institutions to manage society, bring benefits to the class and the nation. Thirdly, politics is also necessary to solve international relations problems.

- PV:But many people still argue: I only do professional work, it has nothing to do with politics?

- Prof. Dr. Hoang Chi Bao: Saying so is not correct, because in a political society, people can never live and operate separately from politics. In fact, politics attracts everyone to participate. Intellectuals should not stand in the ivory tower of knowledge, as they often subjectively and illusory, but need to actively participate in political life. The ancients used to say, when the nation is in danger, the scholars are responsible. Nguyen Trai once taught: Experiencing many events, one has deep thinking, worrying about distant work, one will be surprisingly successful. Marx, Engels, Lenin, Ho Chi Minh were all outstanding intellectuals, but at the same time they were also outstanding politicians. That is why it is necessary to understand Lenin's saying: "Illiterate people will stay out of politics" correctly. Lenin did not think that illiterate people do not need politics, but must understand that without education and knowledge, one can only act politically blindly.

- PV:There has long been a notion that studying politics means studying something very dry and dogmatic. What is your opinion on this issue?

- Prof. Dr. Hoang Chi Bao: It is the fault of the practitioner, not the fault of the religion. Politics itself is not dry, because it is always closely linked to practice, and practice is always rich and lively. To convey political knowledge in an attractive and lively way, those who research, teach and propagate politics must have a thorough training in knowledge, ideology, method and courage, must have both profound intelligence and a pure heart. If you do not have faith in what you say, you cannot convince the listener and instill faith in others. For many historical reasons, the team of researchers and teachers of political subjects still has limitations. That is why the social need for training and retraining human resources equipped with a knowledge system of Political Science is extremely urgent today.

- PV:So for students trained in Political Science, what jobs can they do after graduation?

- Prof. Dr. Hoang Chi Bao: Vietnam has gone through thousands of years of history of building and defending the country. The Vietnamese people are a very politically sensitive nation. Our ancestors left behind many philosophies of pacifying the people and governing the country. However, political research as a field of science has only recently been focused on since Doi Moi. The Doi Moi process over the past 20 years has formed and developed the field of Political Science in Vietnam. It is a promising land, a field where researchers can devote their whole life's effort and intelligence to cultivate and harvest. It is necessary to train young Political Science experts with modern and scientific thinking. They can become teachers of Political Science in the Party school system, universities, colleges, vocational and professional high schools, and in general schools. Do research work in theoretical and political agencies. Working for the Party, government, and organizations... In addition, you can work in press agencies, diplomatic agencies, and businesses... as political analysts and commentators. Thus, training students majoring in Political Science at the undergraduate and graduate levels as experts means that we are contributing to training high-quality scientific human resources, enriching the quintessence of our society, a society that is gradually becoming a modern society.

- PV:Thank you Professor for the interview. I wish you good health and continued contributions to the field you have pursued your whole life!

• Nguyet Hang (perform)
Source:VNU Newsletter