Ideology
"Eternal Lenin will live forever in our work."
-Ho Chi Minh in Lenin and the Colonial Peoples.
-Ho Chi Minh in Lenin and the Colonial Peoples.
His first priority, influenced by Wilson's "self-determination", was to liberate and unite Vietnam from France.
"Our Uncle arbitrated the conflicts. He tried to instill in all of us certain essential principles, to combat pride, selfishness, egocentrism, lack of discipline, and anarchy, while reinforcing unity and placing the interest of the revolution above everything else. He often said: "If you cannot be united in a small group, how will you be able to unite the masses, fight the colonialists, and save our nation?"" |
“I am a Communist but what is important to me now is the independence and the freedom of my country, not communism.”
-Ho Chi Minh emphasizing the liberation cause. Embers of War. "It was patriotism, not Communism, that inspired me." -Ho Chi Minh. hollowverse.com.
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His Communist ideals incorporated many philosophies. It mostly involved Leninism's “world revolution" and “rule of the proletariat”. Furthermore, Ho despised capitalism and its abusiveness.
“Like many Asians, his first experience with the capitalist system was a product of the colonial exploitation of his country, which has produced such a brutal impact on the lives of many of his compatriots.”
-William J. Duiker on Ho’s opinions of capitalism. Ho Chi Minh: A Life.
-William J. Duiker on Ho’s opinions of capitalism. Ho Chi Minh: A Life.
“Nurse: What is Communism?
Ho: No one will be exploited anymore, we will love each other and we will all be equal. Now, for example, you wear a blue collar while the chief British nurse wears a red one. Communism will abolish this hierarchical difference and you will no longer have to wear the blue collar for the rest of your life.” -Ho Chi Minh illustrating his ideas on Marxist equality. Autobiography Walking and Talking. |
"If Confucius were still alive today and still held these views, he would be an anti revolutionary... this great man would bend to circumstances and would soon become the worthy successor of Lenin... we Annamites, let us perfect ourselves intellectually through the reading of Confucius, and revolutionarily throughout the works of Lenin.”
-Ho Chi Minh on Confucius and Lenin. pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu. |
Economically, he looked towards Russia's Socialist plans, hoping Vietnam would advance like the USSR.
“The children whom Quoc had met in the Pioneer camps in the 1920s were now doctors, engineers, and even military officials. They were living proof of the great effort that had been put into raising educational levels and promoting children of the peasantry and the working class to higher social positions. The achievements that Quoc saw in 1934 reinforced his belief that the Soviet regime (USSR) was the model to follow.” |