The Great Leap Forward was a social and economic campaign by the Communist Party of China (CPC) from 1958 to 1962 that was led by Chairman Mao Zedong. The aim of Great Leap Forward was to accomplish the economic as well as technical development in the country at a great and faster pace in order to produce greater results. This essay will explain more about The Great Leap Forward and whether it should be considered to be successful or not.
The Great Leap Forward started in 1958 to 1961 in China. The Chinese communist party CCP led by Mao Zedong considered it was time for the great leap forward after the results of the successful economic reconstruction that had taken place in the early 1950’s. Mao was impatient for industrial and manufacturing growth and aiming at accomplishing the economic as well as technical development in the country (in his words, “more, better, cheaper and also faster” pace) to produce greater results. Mao’s decision to chase after The Great Leap Forward was arranged in part of his powerless about the Soviet approach of the financial, and to assist China. Mao wanted to get ahead of Great Britain within 15 years by relying upon discretion and by offering inimitable quality to the people who would bring a quick transformation to the socioeconomic which involves both social, economic factors and also political system. To increase industrial output, communes were ordered to make steel.
By the fall of 1958, 750 000 agricultural producers people, it is combined to the production of bridges into around 23 5000 communes. Each communes was arranged as agricultural community, little industry, marketing, administration and local security. In early 1959 there was a retreat from the Great Leap Forward program, but retreat was halted when questions were raised about the Great Leap Forward’s results.
The CCP admitted that all the reports from positive production for 1958 were overstated. In 1958-1960 some 20 to 30 million people lost their lives through mal-nutrition and famine because of policies imposed upon them by the Chinese Communist Party. In all the record states that the great leap forward was responsible for at least 45 million deaths. In conclusion, the great leap forward intensions were to help China to be more advanced and also to catch up the industrialization. I say the great leap forward was unsuccessful as many people died due to famine and starvations, as there was lack of food. Therefore there were aims that china couldn’t reach.
