The Concept of Man in Marxist-Leninist Philosophy and Human Resources Development in Vietnam Today

Do Thanh Do, Ph.D.¹, Le Thi Anh Tuyet, M.A.²

^1,2 University of Finance and Accountancy, Vietnam

ABSTRACT: Due to their strategic importance, the concepts of man and human resources have been a focal point of scholarly inquiry.  The critical role of human resources in advancing socio-economic progress has become increasingly apparent since the sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam in 1986, which introduces the reforming process, particularly with the advent of industrialisation and modernisation.  Sustainable development requires strategic and comprehensive investments that encompass both theoretical frameworks and practical applications.  The application of Marxist-Leninist ideology is essential to this comprehension, as it offers a fundamental perspective for understanding human nature, directing human development, and effectively mobilising human potential.

KEYWORDS: Marxism-Leninism, the concept of man, human resources, Vietnam’s context

LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Marxist-Leninist view on man

Marxism-Leninism offers a comprehensive and scientifically grounded perspective on men, rooted in both theoretical achievements and practical experiences. Unlike earlier philosophical approaches that often conceptualized humans in abstract and ahistorical terms, Marxism-Leninism examines human nature through a materialist lens, emphasizing the interplay between individuals and their specific historical and social conditions. Marx argued that the essence of man is the ensemble of social relations on its biological foundation. This perspective rejects the notion of a static or homogenous essence, instead highlighting the dialectical unity of opposing elements: humans as both products of nature, representing a continuation of natural development, and as social beings who stand in opposition to nature. The dynamic interaction between these biological and social dimensions constitutes the core of men’s essence.

Further elaborating on this framework, the essence of man is shaped by the interplay of biological, psychological, and conscious processes. These processes give rise to inherent and objective needs that are independent of human will, such as the need for food, clothing, shelter, cultural and spiritual engagement, reproduction, emotional fulfillment, intellectual growth, to name a few.

While the satisfaction of these biological needs is a prerequisite for human existence, the means to fulfill them are not naturally provided in abundance. Consequently, labor emerges as a fundamental activity through which humans produce the necessary conditions for their survival and development.

It is labor that decisively determines the formation and development of human social nature. According to Marx and Engels (1995, p. 321), it is through labor that humans transcend the limitations of animal existence, evolving into socially and culturally beings. Labor enables humans to create material wealth and spiritual products, develop language and thought, and establish complex social relationships through communication. These activities mark the definitive separation of humans from animal life, despite their evolutionary origins. Engels (1971, p. 259) emphasized this transformative power of labor, assumed that humans are first and foremost the product of labor, and:

First labour, after it and then with it, speech – these were the two most essential stimuli under the influence of which the brain of the ape gradually changed into that of man, which, for all its similarity is far larger and more perfect.

Thus, the Marxist-Leninist tradition asserts that the social dimension is not only a primary aspect of men’s essence but also its decisive feature.

Karl Marx further conceptualized the human being as a “comprehensive” entity, whose essence is defined by the totality of social relations. This perspective integrates humanity, ethnicity, and class, presenting humans as real, concrete, and historically situated beings. To fully understand the essence of man, it is necessary to examine the entirety of social relations—not only those that currently exist but also those from the past and those that may emerge in the future. This includes relationships between individuals, between individuals and groups, and between individuals and society as a whole. In this framework, essence of man is understood as a dynamic and interconnected web of essential relationships.

As a complex biological-social entity, humans have left their mark on the real world through the outcomes of their creative activities. On one hand, humans are products of both nature and society. On the other hand, they strive to become masters of society and nature. Humans are not only the products of history but also the subjects who creatively shape history. The path of human progress is one of striving to achieve an ever-increasing degree of mastery—more complete, more refined in creativity, and ultimately leading to self-mastery.

2. The role of human resources in socio-economic development

 Since the Đổi Mới (Reform) era, Vietnam has pursued a path of economic development and global integration. Central to this process is the dual objective of industrialization and modernization, which relies on a comprehensive array of resources, including capital, land, natural resources, material and technical infrastructure, technology, and human resources. Among these, human resources occupy a central and decisive role, not only influencing the utilization of other resources but also determining the success of the entire industrialization and modernization process (Nguyen, 1990). This emphasis on human resources is grounded in several key arguments. First, unlike finite resources such as capital or natural resources, which are subject to depletion when overexploited, human resources—particularly intellectual and creative capacities—possess the unique ability to regenerate and expand indefinitely (Toffler, 1991, p. 41). Second, while other resources are passive in nature, human agency transforms them into active driving forces of development. It is through human ingenuity, their planning, and decision-making that capital is created, technologies are developed, and natural resources are utilized and restored. Third, the inherent qualities of individuals—such as physical strength, intelligence, and personality—enable them to serve as the primary force behind societal advancement, particularly in the context of industrialization and modernization. The ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (2001) explicitly affirmed that “human resources are the fundamental factor for social development, rapid and sustainable economic growth… People and human resources are the decisive factor for the country’s development in the period of industrialization and modernization” (p. 112). This dual perspective underscores that people are both the driving force and the ultimate goal of development. Consequently, human resource development policies must prioritize two interrelated objectives: (1) the effective utilization of human potential, particularly intellectual and creative capacities, to propel industrialization and modernization, and (2) the continuous improvement of the quality of life, ensuring the holistic development of workers in both material and spiritual dimensions. This approach aligns human resource development with the broader socio-economic goals.

Thus, the concept of “human resources” refers to successive generations of “human beings – subjects” with specific qualities (physical strength, intellect, character) who have been, and will be participating in the industrialization and modernization process of the country. Within human resources, the groups of scientific and technological workers is the core force and becomes the decisive factor for the success of industrialization and modernization (Communist Party of Vietnam, 1997, p. 112). If it does not originate from people, is not carried out by people, and does not aim to serve people, then no form of production has adequate reason to exist and progress. It can be said that people are both the starting point, the main force, and the most decisive goal and factor of the productive forces, of social production; because only human beings have intelligence and thinking faculty. Today, emphasizing intelligence and the role of scientific knowledge is merely an indirect way of emphasizing the role of man. This decisive role of the human factor makes human resource development a fundamental and long-term requirement in all countries. In Vietnam, human resource development has become a crucial issue, both fundamental and urgent. This is because without a strong enough human resource to promote industrialization and modernization, our country can hardly avoid the risk of falling further behind economically.

3. Current status of human resources in Vietnam

On the human resources nowadays, human resources of a nation are shaped by its population size, directly reflected in its labor force (Pham, 1998). There are varying perspectives on the state of Vietnam’s human resources. In the media, it is often emphasized that Vietnam’s strength lies in its inexpensive labor, and investors are encouraged to leverage this advantage when investing in the country. Below, we will briefly review the human resources categorized by sector.

Human resources from the Agricultural Sector

As of now, Vietnam’s population of working age is 84.156 million people, of which farmers account for approximately 61.433 million, representing about 73% of the national population. These figures highlight the fact that farmers constitute a significant proportion of the country’s labor force. However, the human resources within the agricultural sector remain underutilized, poorly organized, and largely neglected, leading to spontaneous and fragmented production. In general, up to 90% of workers in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and rural management officials have not received formal training. This reflects the low quality of human resources in the agricultural sector. The collaboration among the “four stakeholders” (the state, farmers, scientists, and businesses) remains largely superficial.

Human Resources from Workers

In terms of quantity, Vietnam’s working class currently numbers approximately under 5 million people, accounting for 6% of the country’s population. Among these, workers in state-owned enterprises represent a low proportion, about nearly 2 million people, equivalent to about 40% of the overall national workforce. The private sector workforce comprises approximately 2.7 million people, accounting for nearly 60%. The general trend is a declining workforce in state-owned enterprises, while the private sector workforce is steadily increasing. Highly skilled workers represent a very small percentage of the overall workforce. The number of workers with college or university degrees in Vietnam is around 150,000, accounting for about 3.3% of the Vietnamese workforce. The number of overseas workers continues to rise, although there has been a recent slowdown. From 2015 to 2020, Vietnam sent nearly 375,000 workers to work in over 40 countries and territories, a fourfold increase compared to the 2010-2015 period (95,000 workers).

Human Resources from Intellectuals, Public Servants, and Officials

If undergraduate students and above are considered intellectuals, then Vietnam’s intellectual workforce has grown rapidly in recent years. The country now has 14,000 doctoral and doctoral science degree holders; 1,131 full professors; 5,253 associate professors; 16,000 master’s degree holders; 30,000 staff working in science and technology; 52,129 university and college lecturers, of which 49% of the 47,700 have master’s degrees or higher, nearly 14,000 vocational secondary school teachers, 11,200 vocational instructors, and 925,000 public teachers. Of the nearly 9,000 surveyed doctoral degree holders, approximately 70% hold management positions and 30% are actively engaged in their specialized fields. The Vietnamese intellectual community abroad currently numbers around 300,000 fellows out of nearly 3 million overseas Vietnamese, including about 200 professors and doctoral degree holders teaching at various universities worldwide. The number of universities is rapidly increasing. In addition to this intellectual workforce, the number of civil servants and public employees (who also originate from the intellectual class) working in various ministries and sectors of the country has also increased rapidly.

Alongside the rapid growth in the intellectual, civil servant, and public employee workforce, it is evident that the quality of human resources in Vietnam, particularly among intellectuals, civil servants, and public employees, remains significantly weak. It is estimated that approximately 80% of civil servants and public employees working in government agencies do not yet meet the required standards for their roles, such as professional qualifications, specialized skills, foreign language proficiency, and IT literacy, which greatly affects the quality of their work. Furthermore, 63% of university graduates are unemployed, and many organizations that hire them must spend 1 to 2 years retraining them. Even among the 37% of graduates who are employed, many are unable to meet the demands of their jobs. Additionally, the qualifications awarded by Vietnamese educational institutions are not yet recognized by the international labor market.

It is undeniable that Vietnam possesses a substantial population and an abundant labor force, characterized by a relatively young population (with 60% of the workforce aged between 15 and 35). However, the general level of education remains suboptimal, the proportion of trained labor is limited, the occupational structure is imbalanced, labor force distribution is uneven, labor capacity is underutilized, there is a waste of intellectual capital, and unemployment rates are elevated, among other challenges. Labor productivity and efficiency are also notably low.

Based on the aforementioned analysis, several key observations regarding Vietnam’s human resource situation can be made: While Vietnam’s human resources are plentiful, they have not received adequate attention, strategic planning, or effective utilization. Training initiatives have been characterized by a lack of comprehensiveness, leaving a significant portion of the population without formal training. The quality of human resources remains inadequate, resulting in a paradoxical situation of both surplus and deficit. Furthermore, the integration, cooperation, and synergy among human resources from the agricultural, industrial, and intellectual sectors are deficient, leading to fragmentation and a lack of collaborative effort towards the shared goals of national development and defense.

4. Human resource development solutions

First, on Education of Creativity and Sustainable Development in the Era of Globalization

Creativity is a developed human quality in which individuals, through their life activities, generate spiritual and material values that are qualitatively new to the needs and benefits of social development. The essence man inherently possesses creative potential; however, whether this potential is “actualized” depends on social conditions, community education, and individual consciousness. Creativity’s character is one of the optimal endogenous sources of motivation for human and social development. Education of creativity is also the path to building a “generation of talents” – “Talents are the nation’s vital energy”, as a remark of Thân Nhân Trung. An education for sustainable development in the era of international integration and globalization must consider creative character education as a crucial content, an effective method, and an essential component to affirm its value. This is also a requirement for a nation’s education in the current context of international integration.

 Secondly, on reorganization and redeploying the labor force nationwide.

Currently, our country still faces an suboptimal distribution of labor between sectors and regions (for example, about 80% of the total science and technology personnel work in the North, while only 20% are in the South; Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest economic, trading, and transaction center, accounts for 30% of the country’s total industrial output annually, but has only over 100,000 personnel with college degrees or higher. Therefore, it is necessary to reorganize and redeploy the labor force rationally.

The reorganization and redeployment of the labor force should be based on the following principles: (1) Being based on the capabilities and development requirements of each sector and region, and the overall socio-economic and cultural development planning of the country; (2) Ensuring the renewal of traditional technologies, the shift in economic structure, and the renewal of the socio-economic structure, while seizing opportunities to apply modern technologies to production, creating key economic sectors; (3) Creating more jobs for workers; (4) Effectively exploit the comparative advantages of each sector, region, and the whole country to participate effectively in the division of labor and cooperation domestically and internationally.

Thirdly, Radically Reform the Education and Training System and Promote the Development of Science and Technology.

The Resolution of the eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam emphasizes:

Along with science and technology, education and training are top national priorities aimed at improving people’s intellectual standards, training human resources, and fostering talent. Importance is attached to all three aspects: expanding scale, improving quality, and maximizing effectiveness. The general direction of the education and training sector for the next 5 years is to develop human resources, meet the requirements of industrialization and modernization, and create conditions for people, especially young people, to develop career. (Communist Party of Vietnam, 1996, p. 107)

Building a team of education and training administrators and teachers who are morally sound and professionally competent; developing standard curricula for each subject and each educational level; and continuing to innovate the content and methods of education and training, are educational objectives. It is necessary to ‘unblock’ the ‘teaching-research-production’ process and strengthen cooperation and exchange between scientific research institutes and universities, colleges, and general education schools in the field of education and training. At the same time, it is necessary to further strengthen the Party’s leadership and the state’s management of education and training to maintain socialist goals and ‘counter the trend of commercialization’ in education and training. Along with education and training, science and technology are not only ‘top national priorities,’ the foundation and driving force of industrialization and modernization; but also an indispensable condition for maintaining national independence and successfully building socialism.

Fourth, Implement a Reasonable Salary System.

As everyone knows, in the past and present, workers’ salaries have not been sufficient for living. To build human resources and stimulate their proactivity, a reasonable salary system must be implemented first. A reasonable salary means that wages must be paid correctly, fully, and on time to workers based on the quantity, quality, and efficiency of their labor according to specific professional specializations. It is important to emphasize that currently, in our country, the salary system and salaries themselves do not accurately reflect the quantity, quality, and efficiency of labor. In other words, labor in all industries and professions is not paid equally. And as long as labor is not paid equally, the proactivity and creativity of workers cannot be fully developed.

Fifth, Promote Job Creation.

Today, the issue of employment demand is a pressing need for many countries, especially developing ones. This is because, in a nation, many people without jobs or underemployed not only slow down socio-economic development but also give rise to many complex social problems. For our country, the issue of employment is not purely an economic matter; it is closely linked to urgent social issues such as education and training, culture and society, crime prevention, and social vices. Currently, we regularly have a segment of the labor force that is unemployed and another segment that is underemployed. On average, we have about 1.5 million people added to the ranks of those seeking employment each year. This is a significant pressure in conditions that are still difficult.

Sixth, Combating Corruption

The eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam identified corruption as one of the four dangers threatening the survival of our social regime. It has been causing number of officials and party members to leave their revolutionary ideals, degenerate in their qualities and ethics, making the combat strength of a part of the local Party organizations to weaken (Communist Party of Vietnam, 1996, p. 107). Thus, corruption has become a “national disaster”, and therefore, a national policy is needed to eliminate it.

In summary, to build a new man and a strong human resource that can meet the requirements of the comprehensive reform of the country, we need to: carefully consider and study the Vietnamese people in history, linking them with the cause of building and defending the country, with both their strengths and weaknesses; let ourselves take into consideration the requirements and tasks of the renovation cause in the modern context, specifically the requirements and tasks of industrialization, modernization, building a market-based economy, international integration, building a socialist rule-of-law state, and building an advanced culture imbued with national identity. On that basis, build a human and human resource strategy, with particular emphasis on the education and training strategy and the science and technology development strategy.

CONCLUSION

Our country’s process of reforming and the undertaking of industrialization and modernization depend on many different factors, but primarily still depend on the human factor. Even if society has advanced with modern production tools, the absence of people with educational qualifications and proficient skills, with enthusiasm and a passion for creative labor, is still insufficient to create socio-economic development achievements (Tran & Le, 1991, p. 54). Even when society lacks such tools, the role of people does not diminish. Because, in any era, people remain the fundamental productive force, the decisive factor in the socio-economic development process.

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