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Woodstock School

Political Systems of Laos

Communism In Laos

Harsh Tulsyan

MYP Integrated Humanities

Tilak KC

07 Mar. 2022
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Laos

Laos is a country in Southeast Asia. It is a landlocked country which means that it is

surrounded by land, and it does not have any water body on any of its side (Dommen). The

capital of Laos is Vientiane which is located near the Mekong River (Dommen). The

currency in Loas is the Laotian Kip. Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Burma (Myanmar)

are all neighbours of Laos (Dommen). Majority of the population there are Buddhists, and the

rest are Hindus. It is a communist country. Both Buddhists and Hindus have together built up

the country’s literature, art, and culture (Dommen).

What is Communism?

Communism is a philosophical, social, economic, and political ideology whose goal is

to establish a communist society (Dagger). This means that it creates a classless society who

aims to achieve the collective growth of the country. None of the means of production, like

mines, land, industries, etc. are owned by the common people. Instead, they are owned by the

government (Dagger). The workers and labourers work together for the greater good, to

produce goods and not care about profit or loss. Their goal is to improvise the country and

make it better. The wages are based on needs and necessities like water, food, clothes, etc.

The wages are not given based upon how much work one has done. Everyone is treated

equally, be it the labourer, supervisor, etc. (Dagger). This allows the poor people to rise

financially like rich people and this stops the rich people from being arrogant and egoistic to

the poor population (Dagger). Karl Marx, a philosopher, and a revolutionist supported

socialism until he did some research. He later found out the negatives in the governance in

the world. He created communism and he is known as the father of communism.

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Communism in Laos

Laos is a people’s republic democratic country which endorses communism. Laos has

followed communism for almost 50 years. Laos is basically a mix of communism and

democracy. Unlike any other country, it also has 3 branches: judiciary, executive, and

legislative. However, they also work like a communist party (Dzulkifli). It has a prime

minister whose name is Thongloun Sisoulith. The prime minister in Laos is a part of the

executive branch (Dzulkifli). Under him, comes the president and the vice president. There is

also a council of ministers called the ‘Cabinet’ which is appointed by the president

(Dzulkifli). The legislative branch consists of the UNICAMERAL National Assembly with

132 seats. All members of the parliament and the ministers serve a 5-year period until the

elections. (Dzulkifli). However, every produce that the people make, goes for international

exportations. They are also paid according to their necessities. There are only 2 courts in the

Judiciary branch. The supreme court and the subordinate court (Dzulkifli). Laos tried to be a

more democratic country, but it failed in nearly every aspect of a liberal-democratic country.

However, it followed the aspects of a communist government. Laos has only one party which

is called the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) (Britannica). The headquarters of the

LPRP is in Vientiane which is the capital of Laos. The LPRP is split into 2 wings: Youth

Wing and the Armed wing (Britannica). The youth wing is called the Lao People’s

Revolutionary Youth Union (LPRYU). The armed wing is called the Lao People’s Armed

Forces (LPAF) (Britannica). The LPRYU intends to include young people in contributing to

national development. The LPAF consists of the army, navy, and the air force who are not

funded properly. They protect Laos from invaders and stay on the border (Britannica).
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Positives of Communism in Laos

Laos is one of the world’s most politically stable countries (LNCCI). According to the

political stability index, Laos’s rating is: (-2.5 weak; 2.5 strong) from 1996 to 2020. Laos is a

country with one of the lowest crime rates. It has very strict protocols. Some people were

arrested because they were caught using the internet for corruption. Laos’s government is

very secretive (Dzulkifli). Since the means of production belong to the government of Laos, it

has a very low labour cost. The money saved goes to the government and used for the

development of the country. The taxation system is very fair. The regular taxes can be

between 3% and 40% (LNCCI). The income tax can be between 1% to 25%. Also, Laos’s

government is in process of joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This is good

because now Laos can become financially better and recover its losses in the past.

Negatives of Communism in Laos

Laos is a one-party communist state which can affect the people because they can get tired

and irritated of the same rulers and prime ministers every time (Dzulkifli). Though the

country has a low crime rate, it still cannot tolerate criticism. The government arrested a man

who used the internet to find the problems in the government and who was about to expose

some corruption in the government (Dzulkifli). There is also no freedom of speech. The

president has power over all 3 branches which means he can create rules, pass them, and

make sure that everyone is following them (Dzulkifli). This turns into a monarchy in which

one person (the monarch) has the utmost power and can govern his nation however he wants

(Dzulkifli).
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Solutions

Firstly, the government of Laos can introduce more parties to make it a better liberal-

democratic country. This way there can be more flexibility of votes. The government should

also take away the power from the president and give power over only one branch of the

government. This way the government would be better would look more like a democratic or

a communist country and not a monarchy. Monarchies are sometimes painful because you

cannot oppose the government and if you do, you can get jailed. In normal governments, you

can write some suggestions to the government, and they will try and improvise on it. The

government should also focus on its military. If it gets attacked, then they will not be able to

defend it because their military is weak. Laos should join the UN as they are not a part of it.

They might get some funding along with more protection. If it gets attacked, other countries

can help Laos. The military is also poorly funded. 10% of the taxes received by the

government should go to the military and the rest should go for other purposes. The

government is also very secretive and is too over-protective. Laos’s government should ease

up on its constraints because it is way too strict. If you compare it with North Korea, it is just

a little bit less strict than North Korea. It should reduce some constraints and should be

flexible and cool with some things that its people do. Also, Laos’s citizens do not have

enough freedom of speech. If they talk anything bad about the government, they will be

punished. Laos’s government should investigate this matter. A good solution to this would be

to give them their right to speech. The government could create platforms which would help

the citizens convey their queries, messages and suggestions to the government and they can

get a little bit more freedom.

References
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Britannica. "Lao People's Revolutionary Party ." 07 March 2016. Britannica. 01 March 2022.

<https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lao-Peoples-Revolutionary-Party>.

Dagger, Richard. "Communism." 30 November 2018. Britannica. 28 February 2022.

<https://www.britannica.com/topic/communism>.

Dommen, Arthur J. "Laos." 01 March 2016. Britannica. 24 February 2022.

<https://www.britannica.com/place/Laos>.

Dzulkifli, Nasreen. "Laos Political System." 08 April 2017. Youtube. 28 February 2022.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rijoRkC6_FU>.

LNCCI. "Why Invest In Laos." 01 January 2014. LNCCI. 01 March 2022.

<https://lncci.la/why-invest-in-laos/>.