Modern world is an indispensable part of humankind’s development. The change in the history of mankind society has experienced different stages of development, which was defined by Kark Marx as the development of socio-economic morphologies.

During the renewal (Doi Moi) process, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has implemented an open-door policy to actively integrate in the region and the world, in the spirit of befriending all countries in the international community. Therefore, every change in the world economy, positive and negative, all has certain impacts on the Vietnamese society.

Changes in the world economy also influence class relationships, ideology and culture in Vietnam through direct and indirect ways.

In terms of direct impacts, alongside with the penetration of the world economy, non-Marxist ideologies and cultures from different countries into Vietnam have directly impacted on the country’s social relations, ideology and culture. Indirect impacts comprise economic ones. The world economy affects the Vietnamese economy and the Vietnamese economy influences social relations, ideology and culture in the country.
Vietnamese society formerly did not have class divisions as deep as Western societies.
In 1957-1958, the value of total private assets of thousands of bourgeois in Hanoi were only equivalent to that of a large-size mechanical engineering factory of the northern region at the time and a small-sized factory in Hanoi at present.

Many households in rural area said to be landlords, only had one-third of a hectare of farm land. The inconsiderable gap between social classes could be attributed to the fact that Vietnam had been a backward agricultural country which had to fight many fierce wars, and as a result, its people had no chance to enrich themselves.

There have been drastic changes in class relationships in Vietnam since the country carried out the open-door policy to boost international integration, develop a multi-sectoral economy and attract foreign investment. However, the polarisation between the rich and the poor and the gap in incomes and living standards are increasingly on the rise and seen in every aspect between rural and urban areas, plain and mountainous areas, workers and farmers, between workers at domestic and foreign-owned enterprises, between workers at State-owned and private enterprises, and between enterprise employers and employees.

According to a survey on living standards from 1992 to 2002 conducted by the General Statistics Office (GSO), the per capita income of the poorest group has increased slowly, up approximately 49.1 percent in the 2001-2002 against the 1992-1993 period. Meanwhile, during the same period, the richest group’s income rose by 223.5 percent. Poverty mostly strikes rural area where 90 percent of the poor in the country live and 45 percent are considered under the poverty line.

In each locality, the gap between the rich and the poor is even hundred and thousands times bigger. This difference is attributed to many causes, both justifiable and unjustifiable but in the end it is an indispensable impact of economic globalisation.

Globalisation, particularly economic globalisation, has positive and negative influences on ideology and culture in Vietnam.

In terms of positive impact, thanks to broadened international exchanges, the Vietnamese people have further understand of capitalism, including its positive sides and unresolved contradictions. However, pragmatism has arisen from many people due to the impacts of economic globalisation and the development of the market economy.

These impacts, along with negative social phenomena, have made some people who did not learn Marxism-Leninism systemically and failed to grasp its scientific and revolutionary natures reduce their trust in Marxism-Leninism and the ideals of socialism and communism.

Widespread international exchanges based on global economic development have also had great impacts on the cultural field. To restore and develop cultural values, many old quarters, mountain villages with communal houses, and the Gong culture of indigenous ethnic minorities have been preserved and developed.

Meanwhile, in the international integration process, Vietnamese culture has received new values of the world culture and become increasingly diverse and richer. In any era, closed development will indispensably become infertile. Nevertheless, globalisation also has negative impacts on Vietnamese culture as a segment of young people are at risk of ignoring traditional cultural values. In addition, some traditional cultural values have not been preserved and even traded for profits while spiritual values have deformed or sunk into oblivion.

Many families have hit the skids due to the abolishment of fine family traditions and the concept of living pragmatically. Generally, the impacts of economic globalisation on Vietnamese society are great and will continue to increase in the coming years. These are inevitable impacts in the process of humankind history before real socialism and communism can be changed.

Vietnam bypassed the stage of capitalist development to advance to socialism and therefore could not avoid experiencing the initial steps of the market economy. Meanwhile, under new circumstances, economic globalisation has brought the impacts of capitalism in its final stages on Vietnam. The combined impacts of these factors have complicated social life, resulting in opportunities and challenges while Vietnam has to cope with economic globalisation. However, with the depth of national history and under the leadership of the CPV, Vietnamese people have the full possibility of seizing opportunities, overcoming challenges and making the most of economic globalisation’s positive impacts to create strength and mitigate its negative impacts. Therefore, Vietnam’s revolutionary cause still has sufficiently basic conditions to achieve successes in an ever-changing world.