Mao: Aims and results of policies Flashcards
What were some examples of economic success resulting from the First Five Year Plan of 1952-6? [3]
- Total industrial output of 65 million Yuan exceeded target by close to 20%
- 5.35 million tonnes of steel were produced, exceeding the target of 4.12
- Production targets for coal, electric power, and manufactured chemicals were also surpassed.
What were some examples of economic failures resulting from the First Five Year Plan of 1952-6? [2]
- The PRC only managed to produce 75% of their target of oil production
- Only 167 locomotives were produced compared to the target of 200
Overall, what was the result of the First Five Year Plan? [3]
- On paper, some impressive results (possible figure massaging)
- It was not a complete success, some targets were not reached.
- Heavy dependance of Soviet aid lessened achievement.
What was the problem with Soviet aid during the First Five Year Plan?
- The USSR agreed to provide aid in the Sino-Soviet agreement of 1950
- Only 5% of aid was in the form of industrial investment, most was in the form of high-interest loans.
- It had to be paid for by commercial concessions, eg. the PRC was required to pay a substantial portion of bullion reserves.
When and what was the aim of the First Five Year Plan?
- 1952-6
- Mao attempted to develop China’s economy on par with the West and the USSR by following the model of Stalin’s Five-Year Plans.
What were the aims of the Great Leap Forward 1958-62? [4]
- Mao aimed to develop the economy as quickly as possible. He aimed to achieve this by:
- Increasing crop production.
- Doubling steel production in one year (1958)
- Huge infrastructure projects such as the Red Flag Canal.
How did Mao plan to develop the economy during the Second Five-Year Plan (the Great Leap Forward) 1958-62? [3]
- He collectivised peasants in order to increase agricultural exports and raise money for the expansion of Chinese industry.
- He aimed to use the manpower of workers to build a modern economy.
- He aimed to increase industrial production with initiatives such as backyard furnaces and the creation of SOEs.
What were the results of the backyard furnace initiative? [6]
- Backyard steel was smelted from domestic items such as pots, pans, and bicycles.
- Steel production more than doubled from 1957-60
- It turned out to be worthless and unusable - blobby and brittle.
- Large scale deforestation to fuel furnaces- long term desertification and impact on agriculture.
- Lots of effort went into the project, but produced limited results.
- Mao’s view that enthusiasm and revolutionary zeal were a substitue for expertise was unrealistic
What were the results of the creation of SOEs?
- Existing firms and enterprises were taken under state control, prices, output targets, and wages were fixed by the state.
- Workers recieved guaranteed wages and so had no motivation to show initiative or work harder.
- SOEs were inefficient because they lacked motivation to perform well.
- Politically could be considered a success, and was of benefit to workers.
What were Mao’s failings as an economic planner? [3]
- Politics got in the way of proper industrial management - focus on political slogans and not effective planning or evaluation.
- Mao reluctant to accept failure, and found scapegoates for economic failures such as the bourgeois, rather than blaming the policies themselves.
- Finally, he lacked experience and knowledge of economic systems and processes.
How did Mao attempt to reform agriculture during the Great Leap Forward of 1958-62? [2]
- He collectivised peasants and abolished private ownership.
- All farming was controlled by the PRC, who managed farming methods, price setting, and the distribution of produce.
What was Lysenkoism and what were the results? [4]
- Mao made Lysenkoism an official policy in 1958.
- Lysenko was a highly regarded Soviet scientist who claimed to have developed techniques to increase crop yield by up to 16 times.
- Lysenko’s theories were fraudulent, and were applied aimlessly without careful consideration of varing conditions in different regions.
- The whole of China was encouraged to kill birds as pest control, inadvertently allowed insects and other vermin to increase, destrong stocks of grain.
What were some examples of agricultural failure, and it’s effects? [4]
- Grain production fell by 20% from 1958-62. Previously increasing.
- Meat production more than halved in the same time period.
- Severe food shortages - around 50 million died in famine.
- Problems such as slavery, prostitution and cannibalism became common.
What were the reasons for agricultural failure and famine? [3]
- A conspiracy of silence: many gov’ advisers were aware of failings of Lysenkoism and the famine.
- From fear of repercussions, officials reported that production targets were being met. As a result, too much produce was taken by cities, leaving not enough food to feed peasants.
- The end of private farming was a major cause for hunger: farmers discouraged from producing food for their own inmmediate needs.
What were some examples of industrial failure of the Great Leap Forward? [2]
- Heavy industry production fell by more than 50% from 1959-62.
- Light industry down 30%
