Vietnamese Nationalism and Socialism, 1945–1960s

Abstract

This chapter deals with the Vietnamese struggle to dismantle the economic system of French colonialism and to build up alternative forms of national economy in the two parts of the country. Besides looking into their technical experience in running an economy, the chapter examines the personal and political background of the leaders of Vietnam. The organization of a war economy by the Việt Minh government, characterized by a dual emphasis on the construction of and resistance against French businesses, is treated in detail. The land reform of 1953–1956 is shown to have been a turning point in the orientation of economic policy towards Socialism in Vietnam. Special attention is paid to the growing withdrawal of French and Chinese entrepreneurs from North Vietnam and to the policies of the Ngo Đinh Diệm government to seize their remaining assets in the late 1950s and early 1960s.