Communes Flashcards
What were communes?
large collective farms that consisted of ~5,500 households. in addition to farming, they were responsible for industrial production, education, welfare provision and local defence
The First Commune
formed in Henan Province in July 1958 and was name Sputnik Commune
What was the Rash Advance?
happened in july 1955 where Mao called for outright collectivisation because he was frustrated with the slow pace of change
How many communes were there by the end of 1958?
by the end of the year 760,000 co-operatives had been turned into 26,000 communes with almost 1/2 billion people living in communes
Why did Mao launch the People’s Communes?
he continued to seek ways to maximise food production in order to accelerate industrial growth and believed that communes would lead to higher food yields
Lysenkoism
fraudulent theories that claimed that planting many crops together would increase crop yield. Mao based entire agricultural plan on Lysenkoism when it doesn’t work
Why did Mao begin the Four Pests Campaign?
because Lysenkoism placed a focus on killing birds to prevent them from eating seeds
What were the Four Pests?
Sparrows, rats, flies, mosquitoes
What was the impacts of the Four Pests Campaign?
- it ruined the food chain and upset the ecological balance
- the focus on killing the pests meant that people were distracted from agricultural work
Social Effects of Communes
- loss of traditional family life
- women were forced to carry out harsh physical labour that was once done by men as part of being ‘liberated from their traditional roles’
- loss of personal freedom
Economic Effects of Communes
Grain production didn’t increase by enough
How did the communes have a political benefit?
Since 99% of the population were in communes, it gave Mao increased control and made it easier to target propaganda
How were the communes organised?
households were put into teams which then formed brigades which made up the communes
Life in the Communes
- children were left in poorly organised nurseries that had unqualifies workers
- parents were forced to work long hours; hardly saw children
- food and diets were poor
What was abolished due to the implementation of Communes?
- private farming
- livestock ownership; livestock was owned by whole commune
- private selling of agriculture produce
