The Rise of Marxist Thought in Twentieth Century Vietnam Halle Neiderman
aegis 2007 36
At the turn of the twentieth century, the French entered Vietnam with plans to modernize the country. The western power argued that modernization of the country would be in the best interests of both the French and Vietnamese. The French forced their entry into the country for the economic and military benefits of having a colony. The Vietnamese were not privy to modernization and favored their communal farming to the tenant farming or factory work they were soon to endure. For the Vietnamese, this modernization would be a complete breach of their old system and in its place would be a new system, which they did not understand, want, or appreciate. During the first half of the twentieth century, the Vietnamese attempted to reform French colonial laws to create a less oppressive government. When reform ideas did not work, the Vietnamese turned to revolutionary ideas, and it was the communists that advocated a revolt from the colonial oppressor. Thus, French colonization and its radical changes in Vietnam ultimately led to Vietnamese communism because the colonizers failed to change the process of modernization as reform movements spread throughout the country. Vietnam was populated almost entirely with communal and sustenance farmers and as the French invaded and colonized the country, the enforcement of their new laws and taxes left the communal farmers destitute and without resources to better their situation. Colonial oppression forced poor workers into starvation because the French had imposed such high taxes on rice that they could not afford the rice patties that were their main form of sustenance. This imperialist form of colonization was foreign to the Vietnamese, and though both the Chinese and Japanese occupied the country previously, the citizens had not faced such oppression until the French occupied the country. The French completely altered their socio-cultural systems and kept the poor class begging and the elite class dominating. The Vietnamese may not have favored communism, but with great leaders and promises of better economic situations, the majority of the ninety percent of farmers and workers began migrating toward communism and Marxist revolutionary groups. Prior to French colonization and its attempt at the modernization of Vietnam, Vietnam was an inherently communal society, though never decisively socialist. Leadership in villages and social customs stemmed from the deep rooted Chinese Confucian theology that helped guide the Vietnamese for centuries. Despite being a monarchical state, pre-colonial Vietnam had a hierarchy of power within each village. At the top of this hierarchy was the “council of notables” which was consisted of elders within the village. Though these elders were inherently powerful, in pre-colonial Vietnam being on the council was more of a chore than a power position.1 An elder on the council of notables did not necessarily gain power or fortune from his post; he merely looked after the well-being of his village and people. This socio-political role suggests that exploitation of power was not an issue within the Vietnamese villages. The “chores” of the council of notables demonstrate that those in power did not focus on personal gain, but instead focused on the collective good of the villages.
