On Nguyen Ai Quoc's search for a new social model for Vietnam in the early 20th century

1- NGUYEN AI QUOC'S SEARCH FOR A WAY TO SAVE THE COUNTRY WAS SEARCHING FOR A FUTURE SOCIAL MODEL FOR VIETNAM

Since the mid-nineteenth century, independent Vietnam was invaded by French colonialists and turned into a colony. Not willing to accept the loss of the country, the destruction of homes, and the miserable life under the oppression and exploitation of imperialism and feudalism, the Vietnamese people continuously rose up to fight for the goal of national independence and land for the tillers. However, all these uprisings were brutally suppressed and failed.

In that historical context, like many Vietnamese patriots at that time, the young man Nguyen Tat Thanh was very concerned about the fate of the country, looking for every way to liberate the nation. However, Nguyen Tat Thanh had his own unique point in his thinking: he loved his country and loved his people, wanted to save the country and save the people, not just had the desire to save the country, only wanted to gain independence for the nation. Nguyen Tat Thanh's big question was what kind of state should be established after gaining independence, what kind of socio-political regime, what would be the status of the people there. That was also the big question of the nation and the era that he pondered, needed to be answered, before carrying out the struggle against imperialism and feudalism. That was the purpose of his going abroad, to the West in June 1911.

Nguyen Tat Thanh's search for the image of the country was not to find a model of a country independent of the socio-political system as his predecessors had determined: the old autocratic monarchy that the scholars and mandarins, as Hoang Hoa Tham was trying to maintain, or the new system, the capitalist system of the French style, or the Republic of China style that Phan Boi Chau, Phan Chau Trinh, and Nguyen Thai Hoc advocated. He believed that "if the country is independent but the people do not enjoy happiness and freedom, then independence is meaningless."¹. Nguyen Tat Thanh's wish when going abroad in June 1911 was to seek a political regime after the country's independence, where the people were the masters of society, they were not only freed from the domination of foreign powers, but also freed from the slavery of feudal kings and mandarins in the country.

Nguyen Tat Thanh's journey to find a way to save the country in June 1911 was a search for a path of struggle that did not only aim to solve a single goal like the ancients: national independence, but had two goals linked together, the "dual" goal of saving the country and saving the people. That is, Nguyen Tat Thanh not only aimed to save the country, liberate the nation from the yoke of colonial imperialism, but more importantly, the ultimate goal was to liberate the people from all oppression, exploitation, and injustice. That is why Nguyen Tat Thanh greatly respected his predecessors such as Phan Boi Chau, Phan Chau Trinh, and Hoang Hoa Tham, but did not follow their path.

Not agreeing with the path of his predecessors, but in 1911 Nguyen Tat Thanh did not know how to gain independence and build a social regime, a state. Nguyen Tat Thanh's intelligence before going abroad with such a general awareness was already a miracle, revolutionary. There is an opinion that when going abroad in June 1911, Nguyen Tat Thanh did not have any ideology, or had a clear political orientation, but both lacked theoretical and practical basis. In fact, Nguyen Tat Thanh did not have a new political ideology at that time, but the new political motive was quite clear. That was to find a way to save the country and save the people. That is, to find a new state model, a new political institution for Vietnam after regaining independence for the country.

Nguyen Tat Thanh's journey to find a way to save the country, as has long been considered, was essentially a journey to find a new model of state, to find a new political institution for Vietnam. From 1911 to 1920, that journey can be envisioned as consisting of successive stages and important steps:

First stage,before 1911: This was Nguyen Tat Thanh's youth, a period in which the historical context of the country, homeland and family created and nurtured great morality and sentiments: patriotism and love for the people, fostering the great will to save the country and save the people for Nguyen Tat Thanh.

Second stage, from 1911 to 1919: This was the time when Nguyen Tat Thanh worked and studied in French colonies in Africa and then in major capitalist countries such as the US, UK, and France. This process helped him to raise his awareness of culture, society, worldview, and outlook on life compared to when he was still in the country. That is, he understood that in the world, everywhere there are two types of people, those who oppress and exploit others and those who are oppressed and enslaved, and in France there were also two different types of people, there were French laborers who needed to unite and French colonialists who needed to be driven out. From the reality of Vietnam and the world, he came to the political conclusion that when independence was regained, it was impossible to establish a social institution according to the monarchy model, because that regime was outdated; at the same time, he was also very skeptical of the bourgeois democratic model, although it was new but did not achieve the "dual" goal as he himself desired.

He studied the American Revolution, the French Revolution, joined the French Socialist Party and after the "Eight Point Petition" sent to the Versailles Conference (1919) was rejected, he firmly distanced himself from the capitalist model and institution. Nguyen Tat Thanh - Nguyen Ai Quoc believed that the capitalist regime was exploitative, unjust, "deceptive", and did not respect the right to national self-determination, the right to freedom and equality of colonial peoples.

If the decision to go to the West "to see how they do it and then come back to help our compatriots" in 1911 was Nguyen Tat Thanh's break with the political model of the Eastern monarchy and feudal state, opening the process of researching and understanding Western society, then his clear perception of the nature of capitalism through the event of the Versailles Conference in 1919 can be considered the end of the process of assessing the model of the Western bourgeois state and political institutions.

Third stage, from 1919 to 1920: This was the time Nguyen Ai Quoc was in France, but closely followed and directly participated in Vietnamese patriotic organizations, and had a change in political ideology from traditional patriotism to revolutionary patriotism, following the proletarian stance. Many people talked about the event when Nguyen Ai Quoc read “Draft Theses on the National and Colonial Questions" of VI Lenin and then believed in Marxism-Leninism, but rarely said clearly what the content of that Theses was. This is a document published by VI Lenin in the French Socialist Party's newspaper, Humanity, in July 1920, stating the basic arguments, such as the initial outline (draft, or outline) of VI Lenin on the national and colonial issues in the period when capitalism had transformed into imperialism, when Western capitalism invaded the East as colonies. Therefore, the national liberation movement in the East was a movement against Western colonial capitalism. Being an anti-capitalist movement, it was, objectively, a proletarian movement. The national liberation movement whose object of struggle was capitalism naturally belonged to the category of proletarian revolution. Being a proletarian revolution, it - the national liberation movement - had to follow the path of proletarian revolution, following Marxism-Leninism, led by the Communist Party to be able to thoroughly successful.

That is, the proletarian revolution is not only the struggle of the proletariat against capitalism in Western capitalist countries as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels once said, but in the new period, the period when capitalism has turned into imperialism, invading colonies to make markets, the proletarian revolution must include both the struggle of the proletariat in the West (the mother country) and the national liberation movement in the East (the colonies). In other words, according to VI Lenin, the current world proletarian revolution has two parts: the proletarian revolution in the mother country and the national liberation revolution in the colonies. That is, the slogan "Proletarians of the world, unite" needs to be transformed into "Proletarians of the world and oppressed peoples, unite". Accordingly, the national liberation movement in the new era objectively has socialist tendencies. After gaining independence, the political institution established is a new type of political institution, a state of the people, by the people, for the people, led by the Communist Party, with national independence associated with socialism.

Nguyen Ai Quoc read and understood that truth, so he both explained the reasons for the failure of the national and democratic movements in Vietnam in the early 20th century and realized that the path to victory of the Vietnamese revolution was the path of proletarian revolution: "To save the country and liberate the nation, there is no other path than the path of proletarian revolution."², “Only socialism and communism can liberate oppressed nations and working people”³.

National liberation along the path of proletarian revolution is national liberation associated with the liberation of the working people, human liberation, gaining national independence is the urgent and immediate goal, to pave the way, while liberating the working class and the working people is the long-term and ultimate goal. Therefore, after regaining independence, the revolutionary forces must move towards establishing a political regime in which power belongs to the majority, "not in the hands of a few", that is, a political regime of the people led by the Communist Party. That also means that in 1920, when Nguyen Ai Quoc became a communist, it was also the time when he found a new path to save the country, a path that could achieve the determined "dual" goal of both saving the country and saving the people. Nguyen Ai Quoc's policy was: "We have sacrificed to make the revolution, so we should do it thoroughly, meaning that after the revolution, power should be given to the majority of the people, not left in the hands of a small group of people. Only then will we avoid sacrificing many times, and only then will the people be happy."⁴.

Finding a new way to save the country is essentially finding a political institution - a future social model of Vietnam, a political institution - a state owned by the people "for the benefit of the country, for the people". Saying that Nguyen Ai Quoc sought a way to save the country (1911-1920) with that meaning, is to seek a new social model, a socialist society, essentially to seek a new political institution of the people, by the people, for the people, to build a society where the people are rich, the country is strong, democratic, fair, civilized and effective methods, appropriate solutions to reach that society, the path of proletarian revolution.

II. NGUYEN AI QUOC'S THOUGHT ON VIETNAM'S NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM

The image of Vietnam in the future was envisioned by Nguyen Ai Quoc when he chose to liberate the nation through the path of proletarian revolution, a regime ruled by the people, under the leadership of the Communist Party, but the specific model of that political regime, the basic characteristics of that new type of State were still being researched and perfected by him for many years to come. From 1921, when he became a communist, to 1930, when he founded the Communist Party of Vietnam, a series of articles and speeches by Nguyen Ai Quoc focused on presenting a specific model of the future Vietnamese socio-political regime and tried to spread it to Vietnam, preparing ideologically, politically and organizationally for the establishment of the Communist Party to lead the people to implement that model.

In Nguyen Ai Quoc's articles published in newspapersThe Paria, newspaperHumanityof the French Communist Party, in Soviet newspapers, in playsBamboo Dragon, inShipwreck Log, in the workThe verdict of the French colonial regimeand especially in the workRevolutionary Road(1927), the model of the political institution - the future State of Vietnam was gradually formed in a specific way. The model - the characteristics of the political institution - the new type of State according to Nguyen Ai Quoc's thought and the way to reach that State generally have the following contents:

- National liberation by the path of proletarian revolution is the only solution to achieve the dual goal: saving the country and saving the people, national independence associated with socialism,

- Gain national independence through the path of proletarian revolution, through the efforts of the entire nation.

- After gaining independence, a State of the people, by the people, for the people will be established, with State power belonging to the majority of the people, in which workers and farmers are the root and master.

- That state, that regime achieves national independence, human freedom, and people's happiness, the ultimate goal is to move towards socialism and communism.

- That institution, that State can be established before the proletarian State in the mother country.

- That institution and State must be established and built according to scientific, correct methods and approaches, suitable to the characteristics of Vietnam.

- That regime and State have solidarity with proletarian movements, national liberation movements, and with socialist and democratic regimes in the world.

- That regime, that State is led by the Communist Party, the Party follows Marxism-Leninism.

These are the different and new points in the nature of the model and path of the Vietnamese revolution according to Nguyen Ai Quoc's ideology, the core of which is to gain national independence, although it is urgent and given top priority, but it is not the ultimate goal. It is the struggle for national independence but does not lead to the re-establishment of the feudal regime like the previous uprisings and resistance wars in Vietnamese history, nor does it establish a capitalist regime and institution like the American Revolution or the French Revolution, but is basically like in Russia after the October Revolution in 1917, an institution of the majority, for the independence of the nation, the freedom of the people and the happiness of the working people.

With that model, when we say that Nguyen Ai Quoc sought a way to save the country, he was essentially seeking a new model of State, a State owned by the people, led by the Communist Party, it also means that Nguyen Ai Quoc's process of spreading Marxism-Leninism to Vietnam was the process of spreading that new model of State and political institution into Vietnam. When we say that the workers' movement and the patriotic movement in Vietnam adopted Marxism-Leninism, it also means that those movements adopted the new political institution that Nguyen Ai Quoc sought and chose, which was to adopt the model of State owned by the people, under the leadership of the Communist Party, and towards a socio-political regime of the people, by the people, and for the people. Accordingly, when we say that the national and democratic movement developed into a proletarian revolutionary movement, it also means that those movements shifted to the goal of establishing a political institution, a model of State owned by the people, under the leadership of the Communist Party.

Due to the correct orientation of the purpose of the struggle, a struggle that not only brought independence, but more importantly, established a democratic regime, of the people, by the people, for the people, the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal movement in our country broke out strongly. When the movement became a proletarian movement, it led to the birth of communist organizations and the establishment of the Communist Party in our country in early 1930. The national liberation movement following the proletarian political tendency was essentially a national democratic movement towards a society ruled by the people, aiming to establish a State of the people, by the people, for the people, led by the Communist Party.

InBrief Platform, Brief Strategy, Brief Action Programof the Party, inAppeal on the occasion of the Party's foundingof Nguyen Ai Quoc (February 1930) as well as inPolitical platformof the Party (October 1930), the contents of the political system and the new-style State model were presented concisely and clearly: It was a model simulating the Soviet State of workers, peasants and soldiers in Russia.

The characteristics of the Soviet state model and the way to achieve that state model have the following basic contents: To carry out bourgeois democracy and land revolution to advance towards communist society; To overthrow French imperialism, feudalism, and landlords, to establish a workers', peasants', and soldiers' government; To confiscate imperialist land and distribute it to poor peasants; To confiscate the industrial properties of imperialist capitalists and hand them over to the workers', peasants', and soldiers' government; To develop industry and agriculture; To popularize education according to industrialization and agrarianization; To build a workers' and peasants' army; To realize gender equality; To unite all classes of people, to attach importance to the interests of workers and peasants; To contact the proletariat and oppressed peoples; To use revolutionary violence as the method of struggle; To lead the revolution is the working class, through the Communist Party.

In 1930, in the historical context of the world and Vietnam, when there was no more suitable state model or political institution than the Soviet regime in Russia, choosing that model was correct and progressive, creating new momentum for the Vietnamese revolutionary movement, the peak of which was the Nghe Tinh Soviet in 1930-1931.

In the following revolutionary process, through testing and theoretical research on political institutional models and state models in the world and in Vietnam's reality, Nguyen Ai Quoc and the Party arrived at the model.Democratic RepublicIndochina, creating the driving force for the emergence of a vibrant democratic movement in the years 1936-1939. During the national liberation movement of 1939-1945, Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh and the Party continued to research, experiment and choose a more suitable political institution and state model, which was the institutionDemocratic Republic of Vietnam.

Political systemDemocratic Republic of Vietnamis a new State model and political institution determined by Ho Chi Minh and the Party Central Committee at the 8th Central Conference in May 1941.Viet Minh Frontis a type of stategovernment moneywith a program of action clearly showing that power belongs to the people, a transitional socio-political institution of the people, by the people, for the people. That model, that institution is the driving force, the flag calling on the entire Vietnamese people to rise up to carry out the August Revolution in 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh as President.Democratic Republic of Vietnamwas born, although the circumstances were very difficult, but basically quickly established a new socio-political institution according to Nguyen Ai Quoc's choice, with the purpose of independence, freedom, and happiness of the people.

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The historical context of the world and Vietnam, the situation of the homeland, family and personal awareness of Nguyen Tat Thanh - Nguyen Ai Quoc in the early years of the 20th century determined the choice of direction to the West and the social model that he chose for the future Vietnam. The model and the way to reach that social model bear the strong imprint of the historical context of the time. It has been correct and has had a positive effect on Vietnam for over 100 years, which is very valuable and worthy of recognition. However, in the new conditions of the period of accelerating industrialization, modernization of the country and deep international integration, when the historical context of the world and Vietnam is very different from before, certainly the characteristics of that model, political and social institutions as well as the roadmap and solutions to reach that model will need to be pondered, adjusted and innovated. Only then can Vietnam soon achieve the basic characteristics and goals of the social institutional model as determined in Nguyen Ai Quoc's thought in the early 20th century as well as in the 2011 supplemented and developed Platform and the Resolution of the 12th Party Congress in 2016. Nguyen Ai Quoc's decision to liberate the nation along the path of proletarian revolution in 1920, which in essence was to find a political institution and a new state model for Vietnam, a model that was both suitable for the times and met his desire to achieve his "dual" goal of saving the country and saving the people, in which the characteristics of an independent country, free people, and happy people were the ultimate goals, continue to be something that all Vietnamese people need to continue to ponder at present. /.