Agriculture and Industry - The Communes Flashcards
How did Mao build communism in the countryside?
• Establishment of Communes in rural areas
• Mao said that “Without Socialisation of agriculture, there can be no complete, consolidated socialism.”
Why did Mao establish the communes?
• Disappointing agricultural output figures from co-operatives
• Best way to increase production was larger scale communes
• APC and MAT showed peasants had support for full communism
What did the politburo declare in 1958?
People’s communes where the ‘basic social units of communist society’
When and where was the first commune established?
• July 1958
• ‘Sputnik Province’ in Henan province
How many communes were there by the end of 1958?
• 26,000 communes made out of 740,000 co-operatives
• 99% of peasants lived in communes
What was the average size of communes?
Around 5500 households
Features of communes
• Organised healthcare, education, and agricultural and industrial output
• Abolished private markets and land
• Communes would be self-reliant and there would be efficient pooling of resources
Vision of communes
• Perfect communist society
• Develop revolutionary fervour
• Liberalisation of women
• Remove domestic sphere duties
Reality of communes
• Family life was destroyed
• Poor quality food
• Women were forced to carry out harsh physical labour
• Production didn’t rise
• Commune militias established which enforced rules
Four pests campaign
• 1958, campaign to ridding China of sparrows which are grain
• Villagers focused on sparrows rather then crops, which died
• ‘Sparrowcide’ increased caterpillars and other insects which ruined the harvest
Lysenkoism
• Agricultural theories developed by Trofim Lysenko
• Theories were fraudulent
• Led to a drop in agricultural production
• Cadres would falsify figures leading to more ambitious quotas
Conclusion of communes
• Were the start of the Great Leap Forward
• Would collapse during the Great Famine
• Disaster for social life as-well as industry and agriculture in rural areas
