What was the economy of Vietnam before the Vietnam War?

Question

Well in a few days, I am going to be a having a debate on whether Democracy or Communism would have been better for Vietnam. However, after searching the internet on anything about Communism being better for Vietnam than Democracy, I found myself being fruitless. Therefore, I feel that to understand why Vietnam could have been better with Communism, I need to understand what was happening in Vietnam, particularly the economy, before the Vietnam War.

I need so much help with this! Sources are extremely helpful! Other debates about this same subjects are also helpful.!Anything about the topic that has numbers, statistics, graphs and other information about mathmatical value are also of extreme helpfulness!

If you have your own opinions on why and how Communism could have been better for Vietnam, feel free to post it here!!!!





Note: I noticed this the last time I did anything about Communism being better, so I will state, I AM NOT A COMMUNIST!!!!!! Thank you...............

Well, what I am looking for specifically is the economic situation of Vietnam at that time. Everyone should know that communism is about everyone becoming economically equal. What I'd like to know is how the economy worked on farms in rural areas. Were farms owned by people that had the locals work there for money? Did the people living there have a low income or a high income or no income at all? What were economic problems Vietnamese farmers faced in before the Vietnam War?

SOURCES PLEASE!!!!

Answer 1

I think the question is based on a wrong premise. Before the Vietnam War (at least the French phase) the Vietminh were not communist. They were Nationalist and anti-colonial. It is only after the US rebuffed an approach by Ho Chi Minh that he sought support support and assistance from China and Russia.

Had the US supported the Vietminh against France diplomatic pressure would probably have been enough to secure independence with minimal violence. Vietnam would have been much better off without the devastating war.

There was no choice between communism and democracy because none of the parties were communist or democratic - Vietnam was a colony of France.

But to answer your question, before WW II and the Vietnam War, Vietnam was a largely rural colony of France with a rural economy.

Answer 2

For the economic part of your debate, you need to look into why Doi Moi (reform) was enacted by the Vietnamese communist government in 1986. The central controlled (communist) economy was a complete failure in Vietnam ten years after the fall of Saigon. Doi Moi was the start of abandoning central control economy and adopting a market economy somewhat paralleling China's economic and political system. Putting it bluntly, communism doesn't work economically unless a society as a whole desires to live forever as substance farmers.

The five remaining communist countries are great examples of what works and what don’t work. First, you need to understand how communism controls a country, which is the government, the economy or both. China and Vietnam have market-controlled economies and communist controlled governments, and they are among the fastest growing economies in the world. Cuba and North Korea have central controlled economies and governments. Cuba and North Korea are among the poorest countries in the world. Laos is in the process of changing their economy from central control to market control, and it's economy has grown since the transition started. No matter what your view of communism might be, the fact is something seems to be working very well in China and Vietnam at least for now.

A good friend of mine, who is a Vietnam Veteran and has lived in Hanoi for almost twelve years, gave me a pretty good summary about communism in Vietnam. He states that communism is not the big red devil that he or others were lead to believe when he was serving in the Vietnam War. Communism is just another form of government bureaucracy controlled by people who put their personal interest before the interest of those they're supposed to represent. In other words, Vietnam’s government has some similarities to our U.S. government.

My first trip to Hanoi educated me in how easy it is for a communist government can control a whole society. Communists don’t have to put a gun to people’s heads to make them cooperate. They simply control religion and take away freedom of speech. Simply put, if you take away everything but what the government wants you to believe, you will believe in only one thing. However, the government cannot take away freedom once freedom is experienced, and this too is being experienced in Vietnam.

Communism is more easily accepted in North Vietnam, because two generations of North Vietnamese know nothing else but communism. However, communism continues to be a challenge to those in South Vietnam. The Vietnam War ended over 30 years ago, but it is still evident that there are two Vietnams. Saigon’s society and economy is much more affluent and “Westernized” than Hanoi. It is so different that Vietnamese from the North can have difficulties living or adjusting in the South. The push towards capitalism was started in the South and the South will be where the push towards a democratic government starts as well.

Vietnam as a whole is experiencing more freedoms now, and there is nothing their communist government can do to stop it. In fact, the government is actually progressively releasing their control and basically killing communism in the process. There are plenty of signs that Vietnam will eventually have a democratic government, and this time there will not be a single shot fired or anyone killed.

The moral of the story is we should have shot dollar bills instead of bullets during the Vietnam War.

Answer 3

well the real question would be; what would have benifitted vn more socialist economy or a capitolistic economy... this is a no brainer. with most of the people in the country being uneducated farmers capitolism would have benifitted only a few the rich would have got real rich off the backs of the uneducated poor. the slow progression toward education and capitolism seams to being working to SLOWLY but surely bennifit everyone. as a young soldier during the war, seeing the poverty the good vietnamese lived in my thoughts then were " what diffrence does it make what kind of government they have. lets just give them some food , stop napalming them and go home...the 1st time i returned as a tourist and saw how the people feared the government and would only talk polotics in causious wispers made me wish we had won the war... its a very subjective issue... and the future looks bright for vn . today talk of cleaning up coruption is on the front page of newspapers..... this you would not have seen 10 years ago... and remmember this in the usa the police were very corupt well into the 1960's and polotitians still are ... these things take a very long time to get resolved.

Answer 4

The economy was good in the 70's i dont know if it was before the vietnam involvement which began under kennedy. I know we were in a recession in 1958

Answer 5

South Vietnam (Cochin China) was much wealthier than their northern and central counterparts. Since the French chose the South over the rest. As a whole, it was an agrarian economy. I think they whole war was based on the greed of the communists@

Answer 6

I am pretty sure that the French controlled their economy before they gain their independence from them. They fought a war with France, I think they may have been a colony of some sort it was known as "IndoChina" that may help you out.