Developing agricultural cooperative economy in Hanoi

Cooperatives appeared in the heart of capitalist society, the founders of cooperatives, the leaders of the cooperative movement were people with humanity, cooperative economics is an economic stream with humanistic nature, opposite to the inhumane, uncultured side of the capitalist market. For that reason, Lenin pointed out the goal of cooperatives: "not for maximum profit, but for mutual support and assistance among cooperative members, cooperative managers are not because of large capital contributions, but because of the trust of the members, all cooperative participants have equal power regardless of their large or small contributions. Thus, the nature and goals of cooperatives are consistent with the nature and goals of socialism. After the government belongs to the working people, when the people have entered cooperatives to a certain extent, socialism will be realized by itself" |33|

1.1.1.2. Basic principles of cooperatives

- Voluntary principle.

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This is the most basic principle, which is the premise for implementing other principles. Implementing this principle, workers have the right to decide to join or leave the cooperative. VI Lenin emphasized: absolutely do not force farmers (in any form) but let farmers think for themselves, see clearly their own interests and voluntarily cooperate with each other. This principle is not a trick on farmers' psychology, to attract farmers, but first of all depends on the characteristics of rural socio-economic development.

The objective development of rural socio-economy requires the organization of cooperatives because cooperatives bring essential benefits to workers and producers, and therefore they voluntarily participate. The principle of voluntariness here reflects the attractiveness to farmers and their self-joining, if there is no attractiveness, farmers cannot be forced into cooperatives. The proactive and self-conscious nature of political factors and leaders only accelerates and shortens the process of natural development of farmers and makes them clearly see their essential benefits to voluntarily join cooperatives. Any unnatural intervention

often violate the principle of voluntariness. Violating the principle of voluntariness means that workers are not enthusiastic, or the cooperative is just a formality and is ineffective.

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To make farmers voluntarily join cooperatives, there must be democracy in management and cooperatives must create benefits that attract them.

- Principle of mutual benefit

According to this principle, the interests of members participating in the cooperative economy are guaranteed. This is the basic principle, ensuring the long-term existence of the cooperative.

Cooperative members contribute equally to and democratically control the cooperative's capital. Cooperative capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members must contribute capital to the cooperative and receive a certain amount of compensation depending on their capital contribution. Members distribute the cooperative's surplus for some or all of the following purposes: to develop the cooperative, to establish reserves, part of which is undivided property; to cooperative members according to the level of use of the cooperative's services; to support the activities of the cooperative and of its members according to the cooperative's membership regulations.

- Principle of democratic management

A cooperative is a democratic organization controlled by its members who participate in determining the policies and decisions of the cooperative. Members are allowed to vote on cooperative matters and each member has one vote.

Democracy in implementing the democratic principle of cooperatives is demonstrated by the fact that members are allowed to participate in discussions, approve the cooperative charter, approve production and business plans, build the cooperative management apparatus, and participate in profit distribution decisions.

By implementing this principle well, workers will be enthusiastic about their work, because they see their rights and responsibilities towards the cooperative.

- From low to high.

This idea was put forward by Marx and Engels, when they considered the waiting, hesitation and the need to attract farmers, the strategic allies of the working class, and together with the working class, to move towards socialism. During the period of implementing the New Economic Policy (NEP), Lenin proposed the steps of the cooperation process from trade and gradually moving into production. Wholesale trade can economically link millions of farmers together... making them closely related to each other, thereby leading them to a higher stage of cooperation and association in production. However, under the conditions of free trade, private capitalist cooperation will arise, but he believed that under the control of the proletarian dictatorship, these cooperatives would be transformed into state capitalist cooperatives - a transitional step to socialist cooperatives.

Regarding the steps of the cooperation process, it is necessary to gradually, from low to high, continuously "separate" from the peasant economy the functions and tasks that the cooperative performs, which will bring higher economic efficiency than if each individual and each peasant household did... First of all, it is "separating" from peasant households the services related to the circulation sector, and conducting on the basis of those services, the cooperatives provide consumption; "separating" the preliminary processing of agricultural products, and building processing factories right at the cooperative's production facilities, through the system of territorial cooperatives, establishing economic relationships between peasant households and industrial and commercial enterprises and bringing them to domestic and international markets"

Thus, the steps of the cooperation process must be gradually and continuously consistent with the natural development of the socio-economy, on the basis of developing productive forces, social division of labor, socialization of production and expansion of commodity production. Hasty and careless actions when implementing cooperation will certainly lead to failure in practice.

- With the help of the proletarian dictatorship state:

In order for farmers to voluntarily change from private land ownership to cooperative ownership (collective ownership), Marx and Engels emphasized the assistance of the proletarian state to cooperatives. He emphasized that one of the principles for the development of cooperatives is "state assistance". In the work "The French and German Peasant Question", Marx and Engels, after analyzing the necessity of transferring farmers who produce on private land to cooperatives before waiting for capitalism to bankrupt them in the process of developing capitalist production, suggested that "material sacrifices" should be made to help farmers enter production cooperatives, "in that respect, for the benefit of farmers from the point of view of capitalist economics, it is just throwing money out the window, but it is the best use of money, and those material sacrifices can save ten times the cost of reforming the whole society" | 40 |. In that direction, the proletariat can treat the peasants - their friends on the path of proletarian revolution - generously. This idea of Marx and Engels was emphasized by the International Cooperative Alliance in its congress discussing the role of the State towards cooperatives in the process of economic development. Up to now, this idea still retains its value in countries with a long history of cooperative development.

They also pointed out the need for state financial and technical assistance for cooperatives, especially in helping to improve the cultural and production knowledge of workers and training civilized cooperative cadres and members.

The formation of the cooperative system cannot be without the help of the State. But in the end, this is a cause carried out by the workers and producers themselves, they must become self-conscious subjects, liberating themselves. Therefore, the cultural revolution (in the broad sense) and the work of educating and improving the people's cultural knowledge become the top priority in the process of cooperativization. That revolution will help workers increase their understanding and volunteerism to join cooperatives. Passively waiting for the State or "ignoring the farmers" are both wrong tendencies in implementation.

1.1.1.3. Forms of cooperatives

Marx and Engels analyzed the diversity of cooperatives, from agricultural production cooperatives, small-scale industrial cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, transport cooperatives, etc. and pointed out that in specific practical conditions, cooperation can be organized in the form of associations, leases under the management of the State and it is necessary to attract middle peasants and rich peasants into cooperatives. Lenin was the one who directly led the organization of cooperatives in both the War Communism and the New Economic Policy periods. During the War Communism period, he led the establishment of cooperatives in the form of communist communes. During the New Economic Policy period, he put forward the idea of state capitalist cooperatives. In the work "On the cooperative regime", Lenin mentioned civilized cooperatives.

Thus, the form of cooperative organization can be different, depending on specific conditions. Those forms arise from practice, and find it in practice. From the methodology of C. Marx and V. Lenin, it suggests to us a creative solution to the path of developing a cooperative economy towards socialism.

1.1.2. Viewpoint of the Communist Party of Vietnam on cooperative economy - cooperatives in a socialist-oriented market economy

Realizing the inevitable development trend of cooperatives and based on the practical needs of the country, our Party and State have set out guidelines and policies on innovation and development of cooperative economy, cooperatives in accordance with the requirements of the socialist-oriented market economy. The Party identifies the collective economy, of which the core is cooperative economy, cooperatives are an important part, together with the State economy, increasingly becoming the foundation of the national economy to achieve the goal of a rich people, a strong country, a fair, democratic and civilized society.

Developing cooperatives in our country in the 21st century with the great task of implementing a breakthrough development strategy to become a modern industrial country in the future.

In the context of globalization and increasingly deep international economic integration, it is necessary to thoroughly grasp the following guiding viewpoints:

First, promote the leadership role of the Party and State in developing cooperatives.

Because of its comprehensive economic, political, social and cultural significance, related to the lives of tens of millions of people, workers and households, especially in rural areas, the development of cooperatives is considered a great cause of our country today. To carry out this cause, it requires the leadership of the Party, the attention of the State, first of all the leaders of Party committees and Governments at all levels. Although cooperatives are self-managed and self-help organizations of the people, the correct awareness of cooperatives and mutual cooperation in cooperative organizations need to have a strong movement, with active propaganda and support from many forces, first of all the leaders of the Party and Governments at all levels.

The leadership of the Party and the management of the State must, on the one hand, avoid improper interference by Party organizations and government agencies in the organization and operation of cooperatives; on the other hand, they must avoid excuses and subsidies for cooperatives.

The leadership of the Party and the management of the State are first and foremost reflected in the formulation of correct guidelines and policies on the development of cooperatives. The correct, unified and widespread awareness in society about cooperatives needs to be associated with the construction and completion of the legal framework and policies that properly demonstrate the potential and advantages of the cooperative form of organization, making this economic organization truly of the people, by the people and for the people, as well as based on the construction and development of a system of research and formal training for cooperative officials.

Second, the cooperative must ensure to bring benefits to its members, must be an economic organization of the people in the spirit of cooperation, helping each other to improve the efficiency of economic activities and improve the life of the cooperative community. There must be a correct and complete awareness of the nature of the cooperative, its potential and its own advantages compared to other forms of economic organization, making it truly attractive to members and people to participate. The cooperative is an institution that both maximizes the potential of each individual, household, economic organization, and promotes the spirit of

Cooperation through economic linkages between individuals, households and member economic organizations, thereby multiplying the strength of both each member and the cooperative community.

The correct awareness of cooperatives in society needs to be widely disseminated in society, becoming a deeply rooted ideology in the majority of people, thereby becoming a material force to truly promote the potential and advantages of cooperatives, making the majority of people voluntarily organize cooperatives to help and cooperate with each other for their own benefit.

The correct, unified and widespread awareness of cooperatives in society requires continuous, persistent efforts and hard work from generation to generation in developing cooperatives. Developing cooperatives is a long-term process, going along with the common development of mankind, going step by step: from low to high, from narrow to wide scope, cannot be hasty and subjective, but also cannot be neglected or ignored.

Third, the development of cooperatives must be based on the foundation of household economic development, together with enterprises of all economic sectors. These are members of cooperatives in the process of developing a socialist-oriented market economy in our country. The investment and business environment for people and enterprises needs to be urgently improved in the direction of "people having the right to freely do business that is not prohibited by law", simplifying administrative procedures, modernizing technical infrastructure, and developing human resources.

Fourth, it is necessary to attach special importance to learning from international experiences in developing cooperatives with a history of nearly 200 years, taking into account the specific conditions of Vietnam and in the context of globalization and international economic integration, helping us to quickly take shortcuts in absorbing the quintessence of humanity, saving resources, quickly and effectively promoting the potential and advantages of cooperatives to serve the cause of a rich people, a strong country, a fair, democratic and civilized society of our country. It is necessary to quickly break away from the old thinking and old models of cooperatives.

Strongly encourage international cooperation and assistance in developing cooperatives in all sectors of the economy and in all regions of the country.

Thus, our Party has innovated in its perception of cooperative economy, considering cooperatives as an organization that gathers self-reliant farmers who voluntarily unite together, regardless of scale, technical level, or level of collectivization of means of production, to join forces to do the work that individual households cannot do, or can do but with low efficiency. The purpose of cooperative activities is to protect the interests of members and help each other to create the most favorable conditions for members to gain more profits.

1.2. The role of cooperative economy in the market economy in Vietnam

1.2.1 Basic characteristics of new-style cooperatives.

According to the Law on Cooperatives 2003, “A cooperative is a collective economic organization established by individuals, households, and legal entities (hereinafter referred to as members) with common needs and interests, voluntarily contributing capital and efforts in accordance with the provisions of this Law to promote the collective strength of each member participating in the cooperative, helping each other effectively carry out production and business activities and improve material and spiritual life, contributing to the socio-economic development of the country. A cooperative operates as a type of enterprise, has legal status, autonomy, and is self-responsible for financial obligations within the scope of charter capital, accumulated capital and other capital sources of the cooperative according to the provisions of law.”

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From the summary of the practical process of transforming old-style cooperatives and establishing new-style cooperatives according to the provisions of the Law on Cooperatives and the principled viewpoints in building the collective economy stated in Resolution No. 13-NQ/TW of the 5th Conference of the 9th Central Executive Committee on "continuing to innovate, develop and improve the efficiency of the collective economy", the new-style cooperative model in Vietnam has the following basic characteristics:

- About members participating in the cooperative.

Developing agricultural cooperative economy in Hanoi - 2

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