2025 is a year of celebrations for the Vietnamese people. First there was the 95th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, then, the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the south of the country. Vietnamese people celebrated the 135th anniversary of the birth of Hồ Chí Minh lovingly referred to by the Vietnamese people as Uncle Hồ also in a befitting manner.
The historic events of the liberation of the south are still fresh in the minds of many. For much of the world, this victory was one of outstanding significance. The victory of the Vietnamese people showed that even when faced with the strongest, most technologically developed and richest armed forces in the world, the solidarity of the people of Vietnam, the correctness of Marxism-Leninism and the determination of a people for a righteous cause could show bare the paper tiger of US imperialism. Immediately after the liberation of the south and arguably ever since, the works and writings of Vietnamese leaders and generals have informed the practice of every communist and national liberation movement moving forward.
In Palestine, in Burkina Faso, in South Africa, in Yemen, and all over the world, the resounding victory of the Vietnamese people rang through, and continues to this day to ring through in its significance. Today as Palestine and Yemen fight against American imperialism and the genocidal Israeli regime, we see that the struggles of 50 years previous are still rumbling on, and, after the agreement between the US and Yemen was signed, so to, is the continual humiliation of American imperialism on the world-stage when faced with a determined people fighting for justice. We must take the lessons of the resistance of the Vietnamese people into our hearts and into our minds if we are too, to carve a new path in the global struggle against US imperialism, to advocate for progress, and a better world.
In this struggle there is much we can learn, from the liberation of the south, one could argue the lessons are innumerable, however, there are a few key messages we should take from this glorious victory which need discussion. First, to have a correct struggle we must have a correct analysis. Second, to have a strong struggle, we must take the people as the root, third, we must take proletarian internationalism as our core.
Concerning the first point, it can be argued that any army, even the strongest, cannot succeed without a correct analysis of the coming battle. Ideologically the struggle as a whole, of the people against imperialism takes a similar dynamic. To correctly tackle the problems of US imperialism, one must have a correct analysis. In the Vietnamese resistance to French colonialism, many movements sprang up including royalist, nationalist and ‘go East’ movements which sought to learn from Japanese politics, however each of these failed. Only the Communist Party could effectively lead the people to overthrow French colonialism, then Japanese imperialism, US imperialism and to defend the country.
This is because the Communist Party was always engaging in a rounded analysis of the situation and general movement both nationally and internationally. Informed by dialectical materialism they correctly understood the class contradictions which existed in Vietnamese society between peasantry and feudal lords, between the national and French bourgeoisie, between the working class and the capitalist class. This informed their analysis, it helped to discard feudal notions to history of women’s place in society, as it recognised the grounding of women’s liberation in the class struggle and recognised the development of the family alongside the development of class structures in Vietnamese history. It helped to unite the masses of the people, and to mobilise the largest class (the peasantry) to overthrow the colonists and imperialists.
Uncle Hồ once stated that Leninism was like a magical brocade bag, or a compass which would always guide the way for the revolutionary movement. For our movement against imperialism today, we too must make a correct analysis of our national and international situations through rigorous analysis and through Marxism-Leninism. It is one thing to follow a guiding principle, but the Vietnamese experience teaches us the importance of deeply understanding the underlying logic and principles of that guidance.
This allows us to always be prepared, to always follow the compass as intended, regardless of how much the situation around us does not want us to follow it. We must find our compass; learn it’s workings and follow it to victory. We must grasp Marxism-Leninism study the world through its lens, and follow its sure-footed path to victory over imperialism, capitalism and the forces of reaction.
The people being the root of all policy is the primary view of the Communist Party of Vietnam. To take the people as the root allows the country to state to be of the people, by the people and for the people. Such a state will always be defended rigorously by the people, because the regime is the regime of each and every person in the country. The Vietnamese resistance to imperialism shows the effectiveness of the strength of the people’s regime. The state of the people, for the people, by the people will be defended by the people. For a victory against imperialism our analysis, being a Marxist-Leninist analysis must necessarily be grounded in the people, a party without the people is a vacuum of pure rhetoric, however a party with the people can do anything.
This does not of course mean that one has to copy/paste elements of propaganda that may have seeped in amongst the people into Party policy, but on the contrary, it means to take serious consideration of these views and find the most effective ways to challenge and educate against them. In all states, even socialist states, there remains conflicting ideological trends, the effectiveness of a Communist Party, lies in its ability to fight for the cause of the people, whilst also serving to raise their class consciousness, and its vigilance against capitalist propaganda. In our current situation, the resistance of the people against imperialism must ensure that our struggles recognise the links between imperialism in Palestine and Yemen, and Imperialism elsewhere, we must recognise the links between the racism there and the racism here. We must consistently ensure we are grounded in our communities, advocating and educating ever proud that the struggle of our community is the struggle of our country, and the struggle of our country is the struggle of all others.
Finally, proletarian internationalism must always be at our core. This point at first seems obvious but is often overlooked by some. Proletarian Internationalism means to truly understand and participate in the international struggle of the proletariat, especially when this struggle is directly obstructed by imperialist states, we ourselves may live in. To truly understand we must study the events of other countries deeply and create and maintain links between comrades around the world. We must fully understand the situations we advocate for so that we may explain our positions clearly, and we must understand clearly the examples of socialist states past, but especially present so that we may show their examples to the working people of our own countries.
In doing so, we can show clearly the successes of socialist states, some of which may be much poorer economically, but have a much better quality of life for its people compared to surrounding states at similar levels of economic development. Vietnam, proves this, Laos proves this, Cuba proves this, China and the DPRK prove this, and we must illustrate it to show, even despite the consistent barrage of wars, sanctions, tariffs, spies, attempted coups, billion-dollar disinformation campaigns, US-funded terrorism and more, these countries peoples are thriving, in many areas, more than the richest countries in the world.
Finally, we must have militant solidarity with our comrades in other countries. Just as the Vietnamese revolution enjoyed the help and friendship of various nations and the general communist and progressive movement globally so too must any other victory of the people against imperialism. Our banners must forever be inscribed with the words of Marx “workers of the world unite”.
In 2025 we remember the Vietnamese struggle against US imperialism but must also remember its history, and its lessons. Vietnam was not an isolated event separate that was the result of spontaneous action but was the result of decades of struggle against French Colonialism, Japanese Fascism, US Imperialism and the capitalist system more generally. As we globally celebrate the historic events of 1975, we must also at the same time serve to consistently remember its lessons so that our struggles are properly informed. 50 years ago, the Vietnamese people showed the world the people will always triumph against imperialism when they are one, united, ideologically strong and receive the help of their comrades around the world.
Just as in the famous Vietnam-Palestine poster, we must now continue to carry the banner of anti-imperialism from one to the other, growing richer in our experience and growing stronger in our resolve.
