The Construction of Socialism in North Vietnam

Abstract

This paper examines the process of transformation of domestic trade in the early independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam, focusing on the grain sector. It argues that, after the severe food crisis of the spring of 1955, the regime called for structural changes and tried to establish a predominant socialist trade system, without however resorting to a state monopoly, but failed to implement the new institutions of socialist trade. The study further shows that this failure, together with other domestic policy issues, compelled the leaders of the DRV to tolerate de facto until about the second half of 1959 a modus vivendi between the state grain sector and the private economic actors. It also demonstrates that these institutional arrangements and innovative procurement policies were in fact quite successful: the food supplies, sold through the public distribution system and the market channels, were on the whole adequate; and the state procurement of paddy increased noticeably. However, because of heated debates in the Political Bureau, partly due to the failure of the state policy, this compromise came to an abrupt end in April 1959 and was followed by a rapid and drastic shift towards the construction of socialism. As a result, private trade had practically disappeared by the end of 1960.