peasant mentality

(Baonghean) - The fact that some wealthy provinces are also "carrying baskets" to the government to ask for rice relief during Tet and the lean season has sparked various debates in public opinion. In general, the reaction is that it is considered offensive and very difficult to understand. In fact, if one takes the time to look back at the past, one will understand the deeper origins of the issue. And realize that the root cause of such actions is not difficult to understand at all.

Originally, Vietnam was an agricultural country specializing in rice cultivation, and it remains so today. The inhabitants of these low-lying areas clustered together in small villages and hamlets surrounded by thick bamboo hedges. Living within these hedges, people cultivated their own fields and lived a self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-sufficient lifestyle. Because everything was done "self," a character was formed that focused only on oneself, one's family, one's hamlet, and one's village, rarely looking beyond to other communities, districts, or provinces; caring for others was unthinkable. This is also a common characteristic of the peasant class worldwide, as Karl Marx observed of small-scale farmers: They are like potatoes all in one sack. They are indeed similar, but there is no connection between them. Each lives for themselves. Sometimes, one person believes the other is the cause of all their misfortunes. And they compete with each other, sabotage each other, and inflict pain and suffering on each other until they stop. That's what people call the petty peasant mentality. According to researchers, the manifestations of this mentality are usually complacency, living a life of restrained desires, being content with oneself, and having little desire to explore or create something new.

They often have an inferiority complex, feeling like they are "lowly and powerless," unable to accomplish great things. Especially in business, their calculations are often driven by petty, self-serving, and personal gain. This fosters habits and a mentality of localism, factionalism, and limited interaction and networking, significantly restricting their vision and the richness of their character. The deeply ingrained and persistent petty-bourgeois mentality in the Vietnamese character is a socio-historical phenomenon, reflecting the conditions of small-scale production in the process of labor, production, and the struggle against nature and society for survival. Today, with development and increasing global integration, the petty-bourgeois mentality of the Vietnamese has become less pronounced. However, remnants still linger in the thinking and actions of all social strata. We sometimes criticize it as "petty-bourgeois ideology" or "petty-bourgeois thinking"...

Returning to the issue of wealthy provinces requesting rice, this is a manifestation of a petty-bourgeois mentality. Even with abundant rice stocks, they still feel regret and greed when they see what others have, and they try to take as much as they can because they "lose nothing." This is very self-centered, parochial, and localized. They only care about their own people and their own province, without considering others. Ideally, if they can provide for themselves, they should give the national rice reserves to other provinces that are poorer, more suffering, and more disadvantaged. If they receive rice from the central government, they should refuse it and donate it to provinces that have just experienced severe storms and floods earlier in the year – that would be the mark of a true gentleman. Instead, they do this… Some argue that the fact that these well-off provinces are still requesting rice is actually “more harm than good” because it tarnishes their image. That is true. Because that action is essentially "forcing things to happen." However, as the farmers used to say to each other, "it's unsightly, but satisfying." A little embarrassment is better than nothing!

The most regrettable thing is that this kind of petty-bourgeois mentality is present within the ranks of local leaders and administrators. This is a problem that urgently needs to be addressed because once dominated by this petty-bourgeois lifestyle, it will lead to self-serving behavior and local parochialism. That's why, when questioned by the press about why a "rich province is begging for rice," a provincial leader stammered, "That's a difficult question to answer." It's certainly difficult; how could he possibly say outright that it's due to a petty-bourgeois mentality?!

Duy Huong