‘In order to build socialism, first and foremost, we need to have socialist people who understand socialist ideology and have socialist values.’
These are the immortal words of Ho Chi Minh, who helped guide Vietnam through decades of revolution against French colonialism, Japanese fascism, and American imperialism. These words reverberate today in the classrooms of Vietnamese high schools and colleges, where students are required to study a full curriculum of socialist theory rooted in the foundational works of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
Now, for the first time, the materials used to train Vietnamese students in the core ideological system of dialectical materialism and materialist dialectics is available to the English speaking world through Luna Nguyen’s groundbreaking translation of Curriculum of the Basic Principles of Marxism-Leninism, Part 1: The Worldview and Philosophical Methodology of Marxism-Leninism for University and College Students Not Specializing in Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought. This text, originally produced by Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training for use in universities, provides a brief history of Marxism-Leninism as well as thorough explanations of the principles and laws of dialectical materialism, materialist dialectics, and the cognitive theory of dialectical materialism.
The first English edition is brought to you by Banyan House Publishing in collaboration with Iskra Books and The International Magazine. We have done our best to deliver a textbook which is highly optimized for collective training as well as self-study and for use as a companion piece for further reading. The book includes an original glossary, appendices, and illustrations and annotations by Emerican Johnson as well as a foreword by Dr. Vijay Prashad and introduction by Dr. Taimur Rahman.
Table of Content
Introduction to The Basic Principles of Marxism-Leninism
I. Brief History of Marxism Leninism
1. Marxism and the Three Constituent Parts
2. Summary of the Birth and Development of Marxism-Leninism
II. Objects, Purposes, and Requirements for Studying
the Basic Principles of Marxism-Leninism
1. Objects and Purposes of Study
2. Some Basic Requirements of the Studying Method
Excerpt from Modifying the Working Style
Chapter I: Dialectical Materialism
I. Materialism and Dialectical Materialism
1. The Opposition of Materialism and Idealism in Solving
Basic Philosophical Issues
2. Dialectical Materialism – the Most Advanced Form of Materialism
II. Dialectical Materialist Opinions About Matter, Consciousness,
and the Relationship Between Matter and Consciousness
1. Matter
2. Consciousness
3. The Relationship Between Matter and Consciousness
4. Meaning of the methodology
Chapter 2: Materialist Dialectics
I. Dialectics and Materialist Dialectics
1. Dialectics and Basic Forms of Dialectics
2. Materialist Dialectics
II. Basic Principles of Materialist Dialectics
1. The Principle of General Relationships
2. Principle of Development
III. Basic Pairs of Categories of Materialist Dialectics
1. Private and Common
2. Reason and Result
3. Obviousness and Randomness
4. Content and Form
5. Essence and Phenomenon
6. Possibility and Reality
IV. Basic Laws of Materialist Dialectics
1. Law of Transformation Between Quantity and Quality
2. Law of Unification and Contradiction Between Opposites
3. Law of Negation of Negation
Chapter 3: Cognitive Theory of Dialectical Materialism
1. Praxis, Consciousness, and the Role of Praxis in Consciousness
2. Dialectical Path of Consciousness to Truth
Afterword
Appendices
Appendix A: Basic Pairs of Categories Used in Materialist Dialectics
Appendix B: The Two Basic Principles of Dialectical Materialism
Appendix C: The Three Universal Laws of Materialist Dialectics
Appendix D: Forms of Consciousness and Knowledge
Appendix E: Properties of Truth
Appendix F: Common Deviations from Dialectical Materialism
Glossary and Index
About the author
Emerican Johnson is a filmmaker, writer, and content creator focusing on anarchist and communist political theory, history, and activism. He started the Non-Compete Content Cooperative in 2017 and has interviewed and collaborated with activists and organizers from around the world.
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