Whenever the State gives more power to people instead of setting limitations and subsidizing them, it will be able to mobilize gigantic financial and intellectual resources for development.

“After a long time of thinking about why Vietnam still has not become a powerful country, I have come to the conclusion that the lack of aspirations is a crucial cause,” writes Huynh The Du, a respected scholar.

One of the topics discussed at the first Vietnam Reform and Development Forum (VRDF), a meeting between the government and donors held recently, was the lag of Vietnam’s economy behind other countries.