Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on political culture

President Ho Chi MinhHe was a great revolutionary, but first of all he was a great culturalist. According to him, culture is closely linked to ethics, politics, economics, society and revolution. Making a revolution to liberate people, turning slaves into free people, that is culture. In a society that still oppresses and exploits classes, nations and people, the most beautiful and cultured way to behave is to make a revolution. Culture is the behavior of people towards life, radiating on all aspects of life, is the clearest manifestation of a civilization.

Culture is the crystallization of material and spiritual values ​​created by humans.

Culture is the crystallization of material and spiritual values ​​created by humans and in turn, culture elevates humans and creates conditions for progress for humans themselves. Therefore, according to President Ho Chi Minh, culture is both the spiritual foundation of society and the goal and driving force of the revolutionary cause. When he said "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom", he was also talking about the aspiration and right to life of humans, synonymous with the struggle for a culture in which a nation and each individual can live in independence, freedom and happiness. The will to be self-reliant, self-reliant, and self-respecting, determined to sacrifice everything rather than be slaves; the will to rise up to stand shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the five continents, that is the will of a cultured nation.

President Ho Chi Minh expressed a simple wish: “Everyone has food to eat, everyone has clothes to wear, everyone can study”. That is also a great idea, aiming to build a democratic, fair, progressive, civilized society, in which everyone enjoys freedom and happiness. He sawdepth of cultureis to liberate people from the root, but must start from the minimum needs. People only know the value of freedom and independence when they have enough to eat and wear. He aimed for the quality of human life in a harmonious, sustainable and humane society. Through his tireless efforts, President Ho Chi Minh made culture permeate all aspects of social life, turning it into an endogenous force for the country's development.

Uncle Ho talks to delegates attending the 2nd National Youth Union Congress in 1956; Uncle Ho gives gifts to ethnic minority elders living near the apatite mine in Lao Cai (1958); Uncle Ho visits the Hoa Binh Socialist Labor Youth School (August 17, 1962); Uncle Ho visits farmers harvesting rice in the fields of Hung Son commune, Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen. Photo archive

According to President Ho Chi Minh, culture belongs to the spiritual life of society; culture develops on the basis of economy, but when it becomes an endogenous driving force, culture impacts the economy, promoting economic development. That is not to mention that each step of economic development creates a step of cultural development and each step of cultural development in turn creates a new step of economic development. He also believes that culture must have a political and ideological orientation, but ideological culture lights the way for the nation, leading the nation to achieve independence, self-reliance and self-reliance. Thus, culture not only impacts the economy, politics and society, but in economic and political activities, there must be cultural intelligence and mettle.

Political culture is also a characteristic of Ho Chi Minh's thought on culture.

According to President Ho Chi Minh, politics that lacks culture, is not connected to people's daily activities, does not originate from love for people, is not connected to the people, then it is a trivial, crude politics, it is belittling and blurring politics, and self-destructing politics. What is special about President Ho Chi Minh is thatHis political ideologyalways expressed in the form of culture, reaching people's hearts through culture, that is, education, persuasion through transformation. People see the power of revolution from the mass forces gathered and united with the noble humanistic goal of independence, freedom and happiness, which is also a cultural goal. It is truly great when a kind of everyday politics, folk politics, that is, politics that understands and answers the legitimate aspirations of the people, but is also a kind of modern politics, because it crystallizes the intelligence of mankind with the quintessence of the nation. Thus, political culture is also a characteristic of Ho Chi Minh's thought on culture.

Uncle Ho working at house 54, 1957. Photo archive

Our Party has launched the Campaign “Studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle” in the Party and in the whole society. This is a major cultural activity because it aims to help everyone, first of all cadres and Party members, follow Uncle Ho’s moral example, improve revolutionary morality, diligence, thrift, integrity, impartiality, push back the degradation of political ideology, lifestyle ethics and social evils, and guide people towards truth, goodness and beauty. The content of the Campaign has a very high cultural identity, the nature of the Campaign is both a political activity and a rich cultural activity. Therefore, this is also a practical activity of our Party that contributes to bringing Ho Chi Minh’s cultural ideology into life.

Therefore, it would be a cultural beauty if each level, each sector, each agency, unit, each individual, starting from their functions and tasks, based on their assigned positions or current work, could concretize Ho Chi Minh's ethical standards and principles into working practices, into practical, non-formal striving and training content, contributing with society to create a better change in ideology, ethics, style, and lifestyle.

Thus, the content of political culture is closely linked to the content of moral qualities and lifestyles associated with the social standards that each person needs to have. That is what we are aiming for in building a cultural life according to Ho Chi Minh's ideology./.