Vietnam’s official name is the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. When you travel to Vietnam, you will see many billboards with images of communist symbols such as hammer and sickle, red flag, and yellow star. Vietnam is governed by a communist party. No other political parties are allowed in Vietnam by law. If you just look at the surface, Vietnam is a communist country. When you delve inside the economy and social life, Vietnam is no longer a communist country.
You can see many similar like this billboard around Vietnam
What are the characteristics of a communist country? A communist country is characterized by a command economy and a one-party state. The command economy is the economic planning through a centrally controlled economy to create a classless society based on communist ideology. In a communist country, all properties (land) and wealth are owned by all citizens but they are governed by the state. In Vietnam, people have the right to use land, but the government can take it away by compensation. Just like in the US, citizens can own land, but the government can use Eminent Domain to take away your land with compensation. That is why many visitors who visit Vietnam, still consider Vietnam is still a communist country. If you have lived and worked in Vietnam for a long time, I don’t think you still consider Vietnam a communist country. According to some online sources, Vietnam’s state-owned enterprises constitute 22.8% of the country’s capital. It accounts for around 30% of the country’s GDP. In Vietnam, anyone can open companies or enterprises to do business, foreign investors are welcome. In the US, the government’s expenditures are around 36% of GDP. When you examine about economy, both countries are the same. Is Vietnam a classless society? No, It has many classes like the US. Vietnam is not a multi-party state. If you study social society, you know that a big party always has many groups that compete with one another to control the party. It is just like in the US, the Democratic or Republican party has many sub-groups in each party, and they compete with one another to control the party. So one-party state may be right in words not in reality. Before the reformation in 1986, Vietnam was a communist country. Now, It is not anymore. In Vietnam, anyone can apply for passports to go or immigrate wherever they want. Vietnamese have basic freedoms like other countries. Even though, freedom of speech can’t compare to many Western countries. Vietnam has more freedom than China, Cuba, North Korea, Central Asian countries, Iran, Syria, and many Islamic countries. In Vietnam, you can follow or convert to any religion that you want as long as you don’t use religion to fight against the government. I remember when I was a kid. My parents and I often listened to BBC Vietnamese in the room because we were afraid neighbors would inform to police. After 1995 when the US normalized with Vietnam, the Vietnamese government started to give more freedom to citizens. I remember one night in 1995, my classmates and I and many Saigoners stood on the road(Hoang Van Thu Street) near Tan Son Nhat Airport to welcome the state visit of former President Bill Clinton. At that time, police and military officers stood on both sides of the road to keep security.
The US couldn’t change North Vietnam through guns, but the US changed North Vietnam by normalization. Why? I remember an old man told me “In the beginning after 1975, the North officers were less corrupted. After they interacted with the South Vietnamese for a while. They corrupted a lot.”. When the commy interacts or does business with capitalists, they are slowly becoming capitalist too. If you have a chance to live or work in Vietnam for a few years, I don’t think you still consider Vietnam a communist country. That’s why many Vietnamese Americans ask me why I don’t hate Vietnam’s commy. They are no longer commy, they are red capitalists. They already changed but the Vietnamese don’t want to change. They just like many people around the world, keep power to have money. Many Vietnamese Americans considered me as “a communist mouthpiece without a salary.”.