Great+Leap+Forward

= The Great Leap Forward =

The Great Leap Forward was Mao’s new economic policy to modernize the economy in 1958. It came about after the disapproval from the public regarding the Five Year Plans. The hope was that by 1988 China would have an economy that rivalledAmerica. The Great Leap Forward planned to develop agriculture and industry. Mao believed that both had to grow to allow the other to grow. Industry could only prosper if the work force was well fed, while the agricultural workers needed industry to produce the modern tools needed for modernization. To allow for this, China was reformed into a series of communes.

= A. What is a Commune? = There were 28, 000 of them with around 25,000 people each. They were run by local governments known as hsiangs. People in a commune gave up their ownership of tools, animals etc so that everything was owned by the commune. People now worked for the commune and not for themselves. The life of an individual was controlled by the commune. Schools and nurseries were provided by the communes so that all adults could work. Health care was provided and the elderly were moved into "houses of happiness" so that they could be looked after and also so that families could work and not have to worry about leaving their elderly relatives at home.

= B. What was the Effect of the Communes? = By the end of 1958, 700 million people had been placed into 26,578 communes. The speed with which this was achieved was amazing. However, the government did all that it could to stir up some enthusiasm among the communes. Propaganda was abundant – in the fields where the workers could listen to political speeches as they worked as the communes provided public address systems for example. Everybody involved in communes was supposed to not only to meet set targets but to beat them. If the communes lacked machinery, the workers used their bare hands. It was a tough life on the communes, though it payed off for the country, some thought. Major constructions were built in record time.

People were even encouraged to start producing for the country in their backyards. The most well known were 600,000 backyard furnaces which produced steel for the communes. Production of steel, coal, chemicals, timber, cement etc all showed huge rises though the figures started at in 1958 were low. Grain and cotton production also showed major increases in production. Mao had introduced the Great Leap Forward with the phrase "it is possible to accomplish any task whatsoever." By the end of 1958, it seemed as if his slogan was true.

= C. What were the Consequences of the Great Leap? =

In 1959, things started to go horribly wrong. Politicians beliefs were deemed more important than commonsense and communes faced the task of doing things which they weren't able to achieve. Party officials would order the impossible and commune leaders, who knew what their commune was capable of doing or not, could be charged with completing such tasks. If the hsiangs couldn't get the job completed, they would go to jail. Quickly produced farm machinery produced in factories fell to pieces when used. Many thousands of workers were injured after working long hours and fell asleep at their jobs. Steel produced by the backyard furnaces was frequently too weak to be of any use and could not be used in construction. Buildings constructed by this poor steel did not last long. Also the backyard production method had taken many workers away from their fields, therefore food was not being harvested. In parts of China, starvation occurred.

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created by madelyn dekerf