Aim: to turn China into a fully industrialized state
Mass effort of Chinese will bring success and change China into a modern state
General Steel
Backyard furnaces
State-owned enterprises: attempt to have industry fully under control of the government; workers benefited from “iron rice bowl” because SOE provided benefits for workers
2. How this helped Mao to consolidate/maintain power
It actually did not help Mao because there were many weaknesses of the Great Leap Forward such as
the lack of realism and
effective planning,
bad quality of the products and
Mao’s personal limitations as a planner.
The Great Leap Forward resulted in a famine in China, which was criticized by several communists.
However by providing workers an “iron rice bowl”, Mao maintained support from the peasants, who were crucial in his plan to success.
1.Details:
2. How this helped Mao to consolidate/maintain power