What does socialism look like in Vietnam and Laos?

Glimpses of Laos and Vietnam

From July 19 to 26, 2015, the author visited Vietnam and Laos with the delegation, and successively met with the Lao Academy of Social Sciences, the Lao National Academy of Politics and Administration, and the Vietnam Scholars and officials from the Academy of Social Sciences, the Central Theoretical Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the National Institute of Political Science of Vietnam, the Linh Trung Industrial Development Zone in Ho Chi Minh City, the Propaganda Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and other units gained a perceptual understanding of the development conditions of Vietnam and Laos. Briefly organized and shared with readers who care about Vietnam and Laos. This article is only the author’s personal observation and does not represent the official position of the visiting delegation.

Laos: Gentle, quiet, comfortable and peaceful

The plane landed at the simple Vientiane Airport. When the friend who picked us up saw us, he put his hands together and smiled all over his face. After a 20-minute ride, we arrived at the hotel in the city center and saw two or three-story buildings scattered along the way. Before leaving, I read information that Laos’ per capita GDP in 2014 was US$1,690, which is lower than India. Moreover, Laos is a country deeply influenced by India culturally. I thought Vientiane would be as crowded and rough as New Delhi. However, Everything we saw in two or three days was completely different. As the capital, Vientiane is naturally the most economically developed region in Laos, with a per capita GDP of approximately US$4,000, more than twice the national average. There are no skyscrapers, exquisite streets or luxurious shops here. The government buildings and convention and exhibition centers are of a certain scale, but they are not particularly tall or magnificent. Many of them were built with the aid of China, Vietnam, Japan or other countries. However, the streets and buildings are clean, tidy, and sparse, and there are no homeless or ragged people, which seems to reflect that the gap between rich and poor here is not too big.

In exchanges on various occasions, the Lao people did not mention any lofty goals for economic and social development, and did not show a strong will to strengthen the country and enrich the people. This is different from the situation in Vietnam later in the visit. A sharp contrast. Laos was once colonized by Burma and France in history. However, when Laos talked about historical issues, they did not show a strong sense of suffering and revenge. Laotians have a relatively calm attitude towards various issues, unlike us who are prone to excitement when discussing some issues.

As for the basic economic system, Laos uses the same concept as Vietnam, namely, "socialist-oriented market economy." What is socialist orientation? The explanations of Laotians and Vietnamese are the same, which is to take socialism as the direction. This means that the current Laos (and Vietnam) are no longer capitalist, but they have not yet reached perfect socialism, and are in the stage of developing in the direction of socialism. Laos has noticed China's "primary stage theory of socialism" and believes that it is still some distance away from the primary stage. At the Lao National Political and Administrative Institute, which is equivalent to the Central Party School of China, when answering the question of whether Laos pays attention to and how it views socialism in other regions and countries in the world, the leaders of the institute said that they pay more attention to Vietnam and China and are less interested in other places. We know very little about socialism, and because we are not yet sure what kind of socialism we can build, we cannot comment on other countries and regions. At the Lao Academy of Social Sciences, scholars from the Political Science Research Bureau told us that after Laos promoted reform and opening up in 1986, it implemented a policy of coexistence of multiple ownership systems. Currently, the state-owned economy accounts for about 15% of the GDP.

During rush hours in Vientiane, there are a lot of traffic jams on the road, but no one honks the horn, and everyone talks and acts in a calm and peaceful manner. Laotians say that the social security here is very good, and there are no vicious incidents of robbery or murder. Laos has the death penalty legally, but no executions have been carried out in practice for decades. Laos has a land area of ??approximately 240,000 square kilometers and a population of approximately 6.9 million. In terms of land area, it is equivalent to a medium-sized province in my country. In terms of population, it is equivalent to Israel and Hong Kong, China. But in terms of social diversity, Laos seems to be far inferior to Israel and Hong Kong. Laos is located in the tropical and subtropical regions, with a warm climate, abundant rainfall, fertile land, and abundant products. Due to its vast territory and sparse population, it is easier for people to make a living without much competition pressure. This is probably the geographical reason why the people's spirits are relatively relaxed. In addition, Laos is a small landlocked country, and its strategic location is not that important. It is not a target of competition among major powers. The outside world has less intervention and is less affected by external forces. It can live in its own way.