Promoting democracy in association with tightening discipline in Vietnam nowadays

1- Over the past few years, the Party and the State have continuously issued a myriad of guidelines, policies, and laws with a view to promoting socialist democracy and guaranteeing the people’s mastery. Democracy is approached in the following aspects:

Firstly, democracy is the mode of organizing the State and political regime (the forms, principles, ways of exercising the State powers and managing the State). Democracy here is to affirm that the State powers belong to the people and the people determine the form, scale, mode of organizing and exercising the State powers. In addition, the apparatus and officials of the State are only those who are authorized by the people and serve the people. Democracy is to guarantee that the people increasingly join in social management and statecraft. The people are the only constituent of the State powers, the political system, and are the ones the State and political institutions serve. The approach to the origin of the powers is the answer to the following questions: “Where do the powers come from?" and “Who is the real constituent of the State powers?”  This approach features the political science.

Secondly, democracy is the principles of organizing and operating political organizations, socio-political organizations, and social organizations. The principle of democracy requires that the headquarters of those organizations be established via democratic elections and be possibly revoked; regulates the powers and responsibilities of inferior and grassroots-leveled units towards their headquarters; regulates the relationship between individuals and organizations, the roles of members in making organizations’ decisions (majority rules, minority rights). There are some prevalent ones such as the principle of democracy, the principle of democratic centralism, and the principle of consensus democracy.

Thirdly, democracy is the social value which is shown by the achievements in guaranteeing the people’s rights, duties, freedom, and their participation in social life. From this approach, a variety of international organizations have laid down criteria to assess the level of democracy of nations.

Fourthly, democracy is the ideology of outlook on life, world outlook, and the goal of socio-political forces. It means that democracy has become the platform of the organization and operation of socio-political forces. The democracy-oriented approach enables us to explain the goals that state institutions work towards to satisfy and realize the people’s demands and desires. Democracy is the authority representing the people and working for the sake of the people’s interests.

Democracy is considered as the goal as well as the momentum of the cause of renovation. The practice of democracy at the grassroots in the work of bodies, units over the last period of time has promoted the rights and duties of cadres, officials, employees, and laborers; the content, process, and form of practicing democracy at the grassroots in bodies, units have been institutionalized to guarantee that cadres, officials, employees, and laborers know, join in, make decisions, and supervise on the basis of observing regulations.

The efficient practice of democracy in the work of administrative agencies of the State and public non-business units enables cadres, officials, employees, and laborers to well perform their duties, raise awareness of striving to successfully accomplish the assigned missions; lead a healthy and honest lifestyle; promote democracy at work, actively give opinions about the issues cadres, officials, employees are allowed to discuss. It is vital that each cadre, official, and employee ceaselessly strive to improve their specializations and change their lifestyles towards publicity and democracy.

To guarantee the effective enforcement of Grassroots Democracy Regulations, it is necessary to pay attention to the harmonious resolution of democracy-discipline relationship in state administrative agencies and public non-business units. If excessive or unorganized democracy appears, some people will make use to violate legal regulations and the interests of the State, organizations, and individuals; to destroy in-home solidarity; to complain, denounce, slander, defame other people; to spread fake news; and to hinder the public service activities of bodies and units. The harmonious resolution of the relationship between promoting democracy and tightening discipline is elaborated as follows:

Firstly, be fully and acutely aware of the relationship between the rights, duties, and responsibilities of cadres, officials, employees, and laborers. Cadres, officials, employees, and laborers shall be provided interests in accordance with the law and be allowed to implement their mastery in bodies, units. Besides, cadres, officials, employees, and laborers should observe the law, discipline, regulations of their bodies, units. All the so-called interests of cadres, officials, employees, and laborers are the responsibilities, duties of the State. Cadres, officials, employees, and laborers are allowed to do legal things.

Secondly, be more harmoniously and dialectically aware of the relation between centralism and democracy in administrative agencies and non-business units. In Vietnam, democracy and centralism are naturally and firmly tied to each other in the following relation: the Party leads, the State supervises, the people master. The dialectical tie between democracy and centralism is reflected in the unity between collective leadership and individual accountability; the rule of majority; the submission of inferiors to superiors; and the submission of individuals to organizations.

Thirdly, be more acutely aware of the relationship between democracy and dictatorship, between democracy and law. Accordingly, democracy is tied to discipline; democracy and dictatorship are institutionalized and guaranteed by the law. Every cadre, official, employee, and laborer are equal before the law. The interests of cadres, officials, employees, and laborers are recognized, respected, protected, and guaranteed according to the constitution and the law. It is vital to strictly punish cadres, officials violating the law to destroy in-home solidarity and hinder the implementation and accomplishment of duties of bodies, units. In addition, it is necessary to practice broad democracy, proactively prevent and fight against corruption, and combat waste via the overall power of the whole political system and the whole people; synchronously adopt political, ideological, organizational, administrative, economic, and penal solutions.

Over the past few years, although Democracy Regulations in administrative agencies, public non-business units have been vigorously enforced, in fact, some cadres, officials, employees, and laborers haven’t been acutely aware of their responsibilities, rights, duties, interests, haven’t had democratic thoughts and styles, have lacked mastery, and haven’t formed the habit of living and working in accordance with the constitution and the law. A number of people, even cadres, officials, leaders, and supervisors are unilaterally aware of democracy and the law; the principle of democratic centralism in the Party and the State remains misunderstood, democracy is detached from centralism, the fact that centralism is put in contradiction to democracy has knock-on effects on bureaucratic centralism or the situation of anomie, anarchy.

2- As for the practice of democracy in the current context, it is pivotal to be fully and properly aware of the following points:

Firstly, the democracy of Vietnam nowadays is on its way to perfection and not synchronously practiced. First of all, it is obviously reflected by the fact that the constituents of grassroots democracy are inadequate. The rights of the people which are the platform of democracy at the grassroots have not been specifically defined and not been engraved in the communal lives.

Secondly, in the context of comprehensive, wide, broad international integration, the 4th Industrial Revolution has vigorously developed; the world has become increasingly “flat”; the ideology of democracy is likely to rapidly spread. Due to the international integration and the development of science and technology, there are possibly different ideologies of democracy appearing in our social life as a principle of interference. The monopoly of information will be no longer suitable and the people’s choices of democratic trends are inevitable. It is difficult to have expected democracy which is suitable for our conditions and situations if conventional ways are still applied. In other words, it is vital to basically change the ways of dissemination, education, institution, and actions.

Thirdly, we are constructing socialist democracy in the condition of developing socialist-oriented market economy. It is worth noticing that market economy is not an ideology but a system of practices and institutions of developing countries which are formed via reality and testified over time with a view to enabling every individual and society to have a developed life in terms of economy. The main defined features of a market-based economy are to invest and distribute resources and goods mainly via the market.

With the abovementioned features, it can be said that democracy at the grassroots plays a very important role in the socio-economic development of the country. However, that role cannot be naturally performed and is affected by a myriad of obligatory conditions. These effects are dialectal, which means that they promote and maintain the operation of each other.

3- To promote the practice of democracy at the grassroots, some main following solutions should be adopted:

First and foremost, raise the people’s awareness of their rights and responsibilities in the practice of democracy in the grassroots.

According to Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, democracy means the people are the masters and the people master. Democracy means the fact that all the powers and the forces come from the people, the people master the authority, “all powers belong to the people” and “it is vital to guarantee that the people enjoy and use their mastery, dare to say, dare to do”. To firmly grasp Ho Chi Minh's ideology to promote and enhance democracy in general and democracy at the grassroots in particular, it is important to raise the people’s awareness of their rights and responsibilities in their mastery. Rights and responsibilities are two sides of an issue which are closely related to each other; thus, do not emphasize the rights while underestimate responsibilities and vice versa.

To guarantee that the people properly and fully exercise their powers and their responsibilities, it is essential to promote the people’s mastery. It means providing them knowledge, skills, attitudes, and habits in the practice of democracy. The people’s mastery directly depends on two factors: the people’s right to access information and their literacy, social knowledge. Hence, the State should pay attention to elevating the people’s intellectual standards and guarantee the people’s right to access information to improve the people’s mastery and guarantee their powers and responsibilities in the practice of socialist democracy in general and democracy at the grassroots in particular. In other words, the people themselves should improve their literacy, social knowledge and ask for the comprehensive, timely and proper access to information via different communication channels.

To practice democracy at the grassroots, it is key to guarantee the right of access to information concerning the law, the policies of the State and problems directly related to social life, especially in communes, wards, and towns, the people’s daily demands and interests, the fight against the State cadres, officials, and employees’ corruption and waste… As for the people at the grassroots, it is necessary to understand what their mastery includes and how to exercise it. This scheme can be conducted via a system of newspapers, radios, televisions to introduce and disseminate. At the same time, Party committees, authorities, political and social organizations should impart and explain to the people in assemblies of communes, villages, and civil groups… It is important to encourage them to voice their awareness and their existing questions with a view to be timely and satisfactorily solved. They are aimed at raising the people’s awareness of their powers and responsibilities in the practice of democracy at the grassroots.

Secondly, raise all-level authorities’ responsibilities in the practice of democracy at the grassroots.

First of all, every cadre, official in the apparatus should have full understanding of the fact that the State of Vietnam is the state of the people, for the people, and by the people and all the state powers are in the hands of the people. Hence, all-level authorities, cadres, and officials should properly and clearly identify their responsibilities in the practice of democracy, and directly observe regulations in the practice of democracy at the grassroots as their obligatory duties, not as the people’s bestowing. In addition, the State should create favorable conditions for the people to master the country and to enjoy the rights of freedom and democracy in terms of politics, economy, and society, to use their mastery to achieve their personal interests, and to maintain the joint interests of society.

To enhance the practice of democracy, all-level authorities, especially authorities at the grassroots should publicize and clarify their operation as well as their accountability to the local people. Publicity, transparency, and accountability are the prerequisites to guarantee the proper, full, and effective observance of regulations on democracy at the grassroots. In addition, cadres and officials of the State should renew their styles, their attitudes towards the people in accordance with the ideologies “Cadres are the people's public servants”, cadres are those serving the people. In addition, they should solve the prevailing problems of bureaucracy, authoritarianism, bossiness, indifference when meeting the people. Only the authorities base on the change of their lifestyles and attitudes towards the people can they encourage the people to say, take action, and raise their opinions on the basis of the practice of democracy at the grassroots.

Besides, to promote the practice of democracy at the grassroots, the State should also adopt the following solutions: determinedly fight against corruption and bureaucracy of all-level cadres and authorities; forbid to victimize and retaliate those daring to denounce the violations of cadres of the State; strictly punish those violating the laws, the interests of the people and society… In the promotion of democracy at the grassroots, the responsibilities of the State are directly tied to the responsibilities of the people. They also cooperate with each other to guarantee a real democracy in the people’s daily lives and to promote the practice of democracy, especially democracy at the grassroots.

Thirdly, continually perfect regulations on the practice of democracy at the grassroots.

To continually promote the practice of democracy at the grassroots, it is vital to research, perfect, and solve limitations, illogicalities in regulations related to the practice of democracy at the grassroots such as the contents to be publicized; the contents to be discussed and decided by the people; the contents to be supervised by the people; the regulations on tackling violations of authorities and the people in the practice of democracy at the grassroots…

4- Vietnam is in the transitional period towards socialism with the goal of a prosperous people, a strong, democratic, equitable, and advanced country. Democracy is an integral factor for the development and perfection of guidelines, strategies in the new era in response to the short-term and long-term revolutionary requirements of the country, and the ethnic. Throughout the course of revolution, the Party has defined that democracy is one of the basic goals and momentums of Vietnam’s revolution. The social regime the Vietnamese people have ceaselessly struggled for under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam – the vanguard of the working class, the people, and the whole nation is a new democratic regime called socialist democracy whose features are different from the ones of other democracies. The basic feature of socialist democracy is that all the powers belong to the people. The expansion of democracy and the promotion of the people’s mastery are always the matters of survival of our regime and the goal of the revolutionary cause the Party has initiated and led.

Throughout the more-than-30-year renovation of Vietnam, the goals of political renovation are to build and perfect socialistic democracy and promote the laborers’ mastery – the creative constituent of the Vietnamese revolution. Democracy is the goal, the platform of the comprehensive renovation of the country, the measurement for measuring the perfection of the organization and operation of the Party, as well as the criterion to assess the advancement of the whole society in general. In the trend of integration, the increasingly wide and broad participation of globalization of Vietnam nowadays, democracy is considered to be the means, the joint voice, and the joint trend of development of the humankind.

Democracy plays an integral role in the organization and operation of the Party. It is also a way for every cadre, Party member to join the cause of building and developing the Party in all aspects. Thus, it is vital to be properly aware of the nature of democracy, socialistic democracy as a condition to create consensuses of a corps of cadres, Party members in the cause of building, rectifying the Party, and renovating the ways of leadership of the Party.

One core content of the whole conception of democracy is democratic consciousness. Democratic consciousness is one form of consciousness of human beings and the conscious constituents which reflects the high level of democracy of every conscious constituent. To achieve democratic consciousness, it is essential to gain a full conception of democracy. It means that everyone should have a system of adequate knowledge about democracy, virtuous values of democracy, ways of practicing democracy, the nature of democracy in general, and its highest mode – socialist democracy. Upon gaining that system, everyone, every cadre and Party member will have behavior suitable for real values of democracy to gain really proactive democratic consciousness.

Democratic consciousness is the premise to achieve higher competence of conceiving democratic culture. Democratic culture or political culture in conceiving and practicing democracy, in particular, is the highest manifestation of the awareness of constituents in general and a corps of cadres, Party members in particular. Democratic culture is a measurement used to measure the development of society in the conception and practice of democracy. It is necessary to aim at building democratic culture for the whole society, but for the corps of cadres and Party members first. Democratic culture in the Party will be the premise to build and spread democratic culture in the whole society.

In the task of comprehensive renovation in Vietnam nowadays, “It is required that democracy be fully and seriously practiced in all aspects of social life and to guarantee that the people join in all processes of making decisions ascertain to the people’s interests and lives”. Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong has referred to the issue of promoting such socialist democracy in his opening speech of the 12th National Party Congress. Thus, it is necessary to promote democracy, make it become a strong momentum to accelerate the task of renovation and development. In addition, in order to democratize all the aspects of social life and promote the people’s mastery, every guideline of the Party and every policy and law of the State should be for the sake of the people’s interests; cadres, officials, and employees should accomplish the assigned duties and missions, respect and listen to the people’s opinions. The State is firmly tied to the people, serves the people, and submits to the people’s supervision. Besides, it is of great significance to raise the citizens’ responsibilities, criticize and strictly punish those violating the people’s mastery, and making use of democracy to cause harm to the people’s and the Fatherland’s interests./.