From: nvt@netcom.com (Fam Com)
Subject: Re: [POL] Normalization w/ Vietnam
Originator: daemon@media-lab.media.mit.edu
Reply-To: nvt@netcom.com
Organization: SCV Relay
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 03:38:11 GMT

In article <1992Nov18.003153.20122@objy.com> you write:
>
>In article <1992Nov13.234507.18826@m.cs.uiuc.edu>, drk@melodian.cs.uiuc.edu (Dave Kohr) writes:
>|> In article <1992Nov13.015222.18700@news.media.mit.edu>
>|> groucho!thinh@uu.psi.com writes:
>|> >Hi netters:
>|>
>|>I would like to response to the posting by Mr. Max Becherer about an
>|>article entitled "Light at the End of the Tunnel: US-Vietnam Relations" by
>|>Carlyle Thayer.
>|>
>|>[....]
>|>I believe that abolish the trade embargo would improve the human right
>|>situation in Vietnam. [....]  Once the trade embargo is lifted, many
>|>American businessmen and volunteers workers (especialy Vietnamese
>|>American) will flood the country with ideas and thoughts of freedom and
>|>democracy. There will be more eyes and ears to watch Hanoi's behaviors. 
>|>How do we observe the human right condition in a place when we are not
>|>present?  How can we force someone to change when we don't give them
>|>anything at all?
>>
>> Thinh raises some interesting and important practical points about
>> normalization of relations and trade.  I think that it will be insightful
>> also to keep an eye on developments in China, whose economic and political
>> situation I expect Vietnam will soon parallel: a non-democratic
>> authoritarian Communist party retains official control of formal politics
>> and the military (the ultimate form of control), but relinquishes much
>> power over the economy to private citizens and foreign investors.
>>
>> Another interesting potential parallel might be Singapore: could Vietnam
>> become economically capitalist yet controlled politically by a single
>> authoritarian party?
>
>
>The answer to your "Singapore" question is very simple and uninteresting:
>both the VC government and the Singapore governments are dictatorial
>governments;  analogies with respect to their ability to create a modern and
>prosperous economy between the VC government and the Singapore government
>simply DOES NOT hold.
>
>If one looks at a government as a company that provides a set of services
>(defense, education, etc.) to the people (customers) than a democratic
>government IS a free-market government in the sense that the
>people (customers) can choose the party(s) (companys) that provide the
>desired service that the people feel is worthy of the price (tax).  When
>you have a dictatorial government, then you have a monopoly company.  If
>the monopoly company is doing a good job (e.g., AT&T) then the customers
>have no major complain.  The Singapore government can be viewed as a good
>monopoly company by Singaporean.  There might or might not be other parties
>that can provide better government service to Singaporeans (think about what
>MCI and Sprint do to the telecom industry).
>
>The question then is: does the current VC government is the only party
>capable of providing the best services to Vietnamese (whether the embargo
>is lifted or not)?  The simple answer to this question is to have a free
>election where the Vietnamese can express their opinions.
>
>When the VC government propaganda says that they're moving toward
>free-market economy with a dictatorial government, they simply don't know
>what they're talking about (because the government is a major part of the
>economy)!  And those whose follow the same line of argument simply don't
>know what they're talking about either.
>
>
>> -- 
>> Dave Kohr     CS Graduate Student     Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
>> Work: 3244 DCL, (217)333-6561  Home: (217)359-9350  E-mail: drk@cs.uiuc.edu
>>                   "One either has none or not enough."
>
>
>-Tin

      I agree with you.  

				   NVT