Basic content in Ho Chi Minh's thought on human liberation
Throughout his life of tireless revolutionary activities, in addition to the cause of fighting for national independence and freedom for the people, President Ho Chi Minh always aimed at the goal of liberating people, eliminating all forms of oppression, injustice, poverty and backwardness. Both tasks, fighting for national independence and class liberation, were aimed at serving the ultimate cause of human liberation. He affirmed: “I have only one desire, the utmost desire, which is to make our country completely independent, our people completely free, everyone has food to eat, clothes to wear, everyone can study” (1) . Ho Chi Minh's thought on human liberation is expressed in the following basic content:
First, liberate people from slavery, oppression and exploitation by colonialists and imperialists.
In 1858, the French colonialists invaded Vietnam, turning our country from an independent feudal country into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country. Living in a situation of "a double yoke", the people were oppressed, exploited, trampled, and did not enjoy any rights, including the minimum human rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom and the right to pursue happiness. When the national liberation movements failed one after another, on June 5, 1911, the patriotic young man Nguyen Ai Quoc went abroad "to see how they did it and then return to help his compatriots". He went to many countries in the world , both the motherland and colonies, to observe and learn about revolutions and typical social regimes in the world. In 1920, after reading the first draft of theses on the national and colonial questions by VI Lenin, he became the first communist of the Vietnamese people to find the correct way to save the country, which was to liberate the nation through the proletarian revolution. The President's humanistic and developmental philosophy
Ho Chi Minh expressed very clearly that if people are still oppressed and exploited by colonialists and imperialists, and people are not liberated, they must be liberated and national independence must be won. National independence is the condition and premise for people to be liberated, free and happy. People cannot have freedom and happiness under the condition of national oppression and exploitation.
The new and creative point of President Ho Chi Minh when choosing the path of proletarian revolution was not to be dogmatic or follow the Russian revolution and the guidelines of the 6th Congress (1928) of the Communist International. He creatively applied and developed it in the conditions of a colonial-feudal country whose main enemy of the revolution was colonial imperialism and its lackeys. The Party's brief platform drafted by Nguyen Ai Quoc clearly stated the primary goal of the revolution was to overthrow French imperialism and feudalism, to make Vietnam completely independent, and advocated a bourgeois democratic revolution and agrarian revolution to move towards a communist society.
National liberation to liberate people from foreign invasion is not a new thing in the history of our country. The difference compared to the predecessors and patriots of the same time is that President
Ho Chi Minh did not choose independence through the feudal or bourgeois path, but chose the path of proletarian revolution, national independence as the premise and condition for achieving independence, freedom, and happiness. This choice marked a historical turning point in the nation's ideological awareness of the path and real conditions for achieving human liberation.
Second, liberate people from poverty, ignorance and backwardness.
The second enemy that hinders the cause of human liberation is poverty, ignorance and backwardness. President Ho Chi Minh pointed out, “If the country is independent but the people do not enjoy happiness and freedom, then independence is meaningless” (2) . People only know the value of independence and freedom when they are well fed and well clothed. He also realized that an ignorant nation is a weak nation, and ignorance is the foundation of colonialism. In his Letter to Students on the First School Opening Day of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, he pointed out the importance of education, that whether Vietnam becomes beautiful or not, whether the Vietnamese people can step up to the stage of glory to stand shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the five continents or not, depends largely on their studies.
President Ho Chi Minh proposed many policies and positive measures to eradicate hunger and illiteracy. He was always a pioneer in these fields. When the Provisional Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, was newly established, his consistent thought and action was that no matter how difficult the country was, we must pay attention to all aspects of people's lives. At the first meeting of the Construction Planning Research Committee (January 10, 1946), he emphasized: "We must immediately: Provide food for people. Provide clothing for people. Provide housing for people. Provide education for people" (3) . These are four issues directly related to people's lives that the Government must pay special attention to. When writing his Will, he did not forget to instruct the Party on specific and practical tasks to heal the war, develop the economy and society, and care for people's happiness. This is not only a task, but also a responsibility and morality of the Party.
President Ho Chi Minh was well aware that poverty, ignorance and backwardness were major obstacles on the path to complete human liberation, and it was necessary to drive these “enemies” out of the lives of his compatriots and his country. He, together with the entire Party, people and army, made efforts and determined to drive out poverty, ignorance and backwardness so that society would become increasingly rich and prosperous, and so that people’s lives would become increasingly prosperous and happy.
Third, liberate people from the limitations and negative aspects within themselves, especially individualism.
In President Ho Chi Minh's view, human liberation is not only social liberation, but also liberation from the limitations and negativity within the human being himself. This liberation is extremely difficult, arduous and long-term because it is hidden deep within each person, not easy to see nor easy to fix or change. He believes that every human being has good and bad points, bad and good points, everyone has good and evil in themselves. These two sides exist intertwined in each person. Therefore, each person must dare to look straight at himself, not deceive or delude himself; clearly see the good, the good, the good to promote and clearly see the bad, the bad, the evil to overcome. He wrote: “We must know how to make the good part in each person bloom like spring flowers and the bad part gradually disappear, that is the attitude of a revolutionary. For those with bad habits, except those who betray the Fatherland and the people, we must also help them progress by making the good part in people bloom to push back the evil part, not by crushing them to pieces” (4) .
According to President Ho Chi Minh, one of the evils that each person must resolutely eliminate is individualism. He believed that individualism gives birth to hundreds of bad qualities, such as corruption, waste, selfishness, laziness, arrogance, arrogance, narrow-mindedness, localism... and bad habits, such as bureaucracy, doing things through gossip, arrogance, love of formalities... He considered individualism an ally of colonialism and feudalism, an "internal enemy" and those who commit such sins "are as serious as the sins of traitors and spies". He concluded that fighting corruption, waste and bureaucracy is as important and urgent as fighting on the front line and believed that to defeat the external enemy, one must first defeat the internal enemy, which is individualism.
The fight against individualism cannot happen overnight, in a day or two, but is extremely difficult, arduous, and complicated because it is hidden deep within each person, not easily recognized. According to President Ho Chi Minh, to prevent evil, our Party from top to bottom must focus on educating revolutionary ethics, strengthening vigilance, expanding self-criticism and criticism. Specifically, we must regularly practice and cultivate revolutionary ethics; must conduct self-criticism and criticism frankly and honestly, based on the spirit of comradeship and mutual love, must promote and respect the individual, and develop all individual capacities for the development and happiness of human beings. He encouraged the entire community to strive for the common good, while at the same time paying due attention to genuine individual interests.
Fourth, build comprehensively developed human beings so that they can liberate themselves.
President Ho Chi Minh's philosophy of human development on human liberation is not only to liberate people from all oppression, exploitation, constraints, and restraints on all aspects of human development, but also to proactively and actively build a new Vietnamese person who is fully developed, so that people have the capacity to liberate themselves. The cause of human liberation can only be realized through the efforts of people themselves. People are the active, self-conscious, and creative subjects of the cause of human liberation.
Accordingly, not everyone has the strength to liberate themselves, but it is the result of a proactive, positive, self-conscious process of learning, training, and lifelong self-cultivation of each person as well as the help, support, and cultivation of the collective, family, society, Fatherland, and humanity. In 1927, in the work The Revolutionary Path, President Ho Chi Minh emphasized 23 points about "revolutionary qualifications", including all the qualities and abilities required of a revolutionary. In his Testament, he advised: "The Party must take care of educating them in revolutionary ethics, training them to become successors in building socialism who are both "red" and "expert" (5) .
Building a comprehensively developed human being must pay attention to building all standard values: morality, intelligence, physical strength, and aesthetics; forming people who are both virtuous and talented, so that they can liberate and develop themselves. In this system of standard values, President Ho Chi Minh emphasized that first of all, it is necessary to build ethical standards, making people have a sense of mastery, socialist collective spirit; diligence and thrift in building the country; ardent patriotism, pure international spirit... Intelligence is a unique quality and capacity of a human being, creating human value. A newly comprehensively developed human being must have comprehensive knowledge: political theory, culture, expertise, profession, scientific and technical level..., must know how to apply and creatively develop knowledge to solve problems arising from practice, contributing to the continuous development of the economy, culture, society, and the successful construction of socialism. Health is a very important factor, not only affecting the existence and development of each individual, but also of the whole community. Good health is the basis and condition for the growth and development of other human qualities and abilities. He affirmed: "To preserve democracy, build the country, create a new life, everything needs health to be successful" (6) .
In addition to building a system of moral values, President Ho Chi Minh always paid attention to building the world of the soul, emotions, and aesthetic capacity of people. The more developed, progressive, and civilized the society is, the greater the need for beauty, goodness, and nobility of people becomes. Socialist people must have awareness and action to increase the good, the beautiful, and the noble, and to make progress more and more; on the other hand, to make backwardness and obsolescence increasingly reduced, and evil and corruption increasingly eliminated from human life and society. Through the struggle to protect what is right and beautiful, against what is wrong, what is bad, uncultured, and inhumane, people constantly strive to rise up, towards noble values, contributing to the perfection of personality. In order for the standard value system of human beings to develop comprehensively, be shaped and transmitted throughout the process of human liberation and development, President Ho Chi Minh pointed out a very scientific and revolutionary method of building human beings. That is comprehensive education and training; setting an example and self-discipline in training and improving of each individual.
Solutions to apply Ho Chi Minh's ideological values on human liberation in the era of national growth
Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on human beings and human liberation have enriched Marxist-Leninist theory, going beyond the scope of classes to expand into comprehensive liberation: nation, society, class and individual. His thoughts not only have profound philosophical values, but are also imbued with humanity and progress, and have been applied by our Party throughout the revolutionary process. In the struggle for national independence, the Party has led our people to overcome all challenges, regain the right to live and freedom for the people. After the country's reunification, the Party continued to apply Ho Chi Minh's thoughts to implement the program of hunger eradication, poverty reduction, raising people's knowledge and improving people's lives. Thanks to that, Vietnam's Human Development Index (HDI) has continuously increased: From 1990 to 2023, Vietnam's HDI increased from 0.499 to 0.766, equivalent to an increase of 53.5%, an impressive step forward (7) ; the multidimensional poverty rate decreased sharply from 9.88% in 2016 to about 2.93% by the end of 2023 (8) . In 2024, Vietnam ranked 44/133 countries and economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII), up two places compared to 2023 (9) .
In the new era - the era of national growth, Ho Chi Minh's thought on human liberation has the meaning of guiding comprehensive human development:
Firstly, developing intelligence, creativity and digital skills is a top priority. Modern education does not only impart knowledge, but must innovate in the direction of forming critical thinking, technological skills and creativity. The integration of fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, artificial intelligence and big data needs to be implemented synchronously with education on cultural values, history and national identity.
Second, building personality, ethics and civic consciousness is the foundation for people to become responsible subjects to the community and society. In particular, studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics and style must be considered a key task in the process of educating and perfecting people.
Third, ensuring physical and mental health and improving cultural life are indispensable conditions for comprehensive human development. It is necessary to focus on investing in health, sports, and mental health care, while creating a healthy and civilized living environment for people. At the same time, it is necessary to encourage reading culture, office culture, community behavior culture, and preserve traditional cultural values.
To concretize the above orientation, it is necessary to synchronously implement the following solutions:
Firstly, it is necessary to continue to fundamentally and comprehensively reform education and training in the direction of individualization, international integration and adaptation to the digital transformation trend. The focus is to transform educational thinking from "learning to take exams" to "learning to do, to be creative, to live humanely", in order to comprehensively develop the qualities and abilities of learners. At the same time, it is necessary to improve the capacity of the teaching staff, modernize teaching methods, update the program according to international standards and in accordance with the digital context. This is a major orientation identified by the Party in Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW, dated November 4, 2013, of the 8th Central Conference, Session XI, "On fundamental and comprehensive innovation of education and training", considering education and training as the top national policy, the cause of the Party, the State and the entire people, contributing to the formation of high-quality human resources, meeting the requirements of national development in the new era.
Second, it is necessary to strongly develop the startup and innovation ecosystem to exploit the creative potential of young people, especially in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The State needs to have policies to support young people in building and developing startups, applying new, environmentally friendly technologies and having community values, in line with the spirit of Resolution No. 68/NQ-TW, dated May 4, 2025, of the Politburo, "On private economic development", which emphasizes the task of promoting communication work, raising awareness and action, arousing the spirit of entrepreneurship, startups, confidence, self-reliance, and national pride of all people to promote strong development of the private economy. At the same time, promote the formation and development of innovation centers at universities, industrial parks, and high-tech parks to create a favorable environment for research, application, and commercialization of scientific results. Contribute to promoting creative economy, enhancing national competitiveness and sustainable development.
Third, it is necessary to improve the social security policy system in an inclusive and sustainable direction, aiming to protect the disadvantaged and narrow the development gap between regions in the country. Prioritizing investment in human resource development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas is of strategic significance, contributing to improving the quality of life and promoting sustainable development. There should be specific policies to support people in accessing education, health care, employment and basic social services. This orientation is emphasized in Resolution No. 11-NQ/TW, dated February 10, 2022, of the Politburo, "On the direction of socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security in the midland and mountainous areas of the North to 2030, with a vision to 2045", which affirms the need to comprehensively develop education, health care, culture, ensure social security, and improve the material and spiritual life of the people. Thereby, contributing to promoting social equity and equitable development among regions.
Fourth, it is necessary to promote comprehensive digital transformation in all fields to facilitate people's access to knowledge, online public services and modern digital utilities. The popularization of digital technology not only contributes to narrowing the gap between regions, but also promotes equality in access to information and development opportunities. In particular, it is necessary to strongly implement the program to improve digital skills for the community, focusing on groups that are easily left behind, such as women, the elderly and farmers. This effort contributes to the formation of a digital society, digital citizens, promoting the development of the digital economy and increasing national competitiveness, in line with the Party's orientation in Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, dated December 22, 2024, of the Politburo, "On breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation", considering digital transformation as a breakthrough method for rapid and sustainable development of the country on the basis of science, technology and innovation.
Fifth, it is necessary to develop culture into a solid spiritual foundation of society, creating a driving force for the country's sustainable development. The construction of a healthy cultural environment, promoting humanistic values, ethics, and good lifestyles needs to continue to be focused on. At the same time, it is necessary to arouse and promote the endogenous strength of Vietnamese culture and people in all areas of social life. This demonstrates the continuation and extensive implementation of the spirit of Resolution No. 33-NQ/TW, dated June 9, 2014, of the 9th Central Conference, Session XI, "On building and developing Vietnamese culture and people to meet the requirements of sustainable national development", that culture is the spiritual foundation of society, both the goal and the driving force for socio-economic development. Thereby, contributing to the building of comprehensively developed Vietnamese people and an advanced culture, imbued with national identity.
Sixth, consider improving the quality of health care for all people as a key task to ensure sustainable development. It is necessary to focus on investing in primary health care and preventive medicine, while raising awareness and consciousness of self-care in the community. Developing school sports and promoting the movement of physical training among the people also plays an important role in building a healthy and dynamic society, creating a solid foundation for developing high-quality human resources and building a prosperous nation. This policy is affirmed in Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW, dated October 25, 2017, of the 6th Central Conference, Session XII, "On strengthening the work of protecting, caring for and improving people's health in the new situation", requiring a shift in health care from treatment to prevention, improving the health and stature of Vietnamese people.
Comprehensive human development in the era of advancement is not only an aspiration, but also a strategic path for our nation to move towards a civilized, democratic, prosperous and happy society. This is the crystallization of Ho Chi Minh's thought on "people as the root", the Party's viewpoint on sustainable development, and dynamic integration into the progressive development trend of humanity. Each level, sector, locality, organization and each citizen need to join hands to realize this orientation with practical, specific and synchronous actions./.
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(1) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2011, vol. 4, p. 187
(2) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 4, p. 64
(3) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 4, p. 175
(4) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 15, p. 672
(5) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 15, p. 612
(6) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit., vol. 4, p. 241
(7) See: Nhat Anh: "Vietnam maintains a high Human Development Index", Nhan Dan Electronic Newspaper, May 7, 2025, https://nhandan.vn/viet-nam-duy-tri-chi-so-phat-trien-con-nguoi-o-muc-cao-post877966.html
(8) See: Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs: Summary report of the sustainable poverty reduction program for the period 2016 - 2020 and implementation results in 2023
(9) See: Hoang Giang: "Vietnam continues to rise in the Global Innovation Index", Government Electronic Newspaper, September 26, 2024, https://baochinhphu.vn/viet-nam-tiep-tuc-thang-hang-chi-so-doi-moi-sang-tao-toan-cau-102240926195157563.htm
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