In principle, the socio-economic system that this movement espouses sounds ideal. Equality for all! Who doesn't want that? But then again, it didn't really work out for Marxist-Leninist economies, hence most of them ended up opening up their markets to "capitalists". Old news really.
But this must be NEW news to Vietnam's citizens who apparently have now discovered the joys of capitalism, I mean, shopping in luxury stores!
My friend Lana used to tell me that nobody bought luxury goods in Vietnam, much to the delight of the Pinoy expats there! So they had their fill of discounted designer shoes and bags that probably never got picked through! Now too bad, they're up against stiff competition. For one, as the article reads, "...opinion surveys show that the 60 percent of Vietnamese born after 1975 are very optimistic about the future - and determined to enjoy the here and now." And here's the clincher, according to Nguyen Hoang Trieu, a luxury car dealer in Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon. "Here, you pay all at once, in cash. Sometimes people come in here with $400,000 in a suitcase."
With Vietnam now fast becoming a bastion of luxists, (big brother China is of course a huge luxury market as well), will it be Cuba, North Korea and Laos in the near future?
This begs the question, will the Pinoy Reds still have a following given today's ultra-consumerist society? Are they still relevant?
(Photo credit: Chitose Suzuki/The Associated Press)
No comments:
Post a Comment