By the late 1950’s, Mao was impatient with the rate of China’s economic development. Mao decided that industrialization should be small-scale and centered in the country- side. In 1958 Mao launched a mass movement to carry out this plan known as the “Great Leap Forward,” which was supposed to take China from socialism into communism. Mao’s goal was to achieve a massive increase in production without the need of outside support. Communes, a

By 1960, however, it was evident that the “Great Leap Forward” was an economic disaster. While peasants succeeded at some things, grain output fell. For the first time under the Communists, there was widespread starvation. Since Mao then realized he could not do this on his own, he had to turn to other countries for help. Emergency measures were taken to bring the economy under control, including importing grain from the West and redistributing the communes. In the cities, a black market flourished. Mao continued to defend the “Great Leap Forward.” Despite the failures of his plan, the Chinese people trusted and loved Mao. By early 1962 a full-scale depression with massive unemployment could not be ignored. Jobless workers were quickly sent to the countryside to work on communes. Others left for jobs in Hong Kong. Additionally, the “Great Leap Forward” lead to the worst famine in years in which about 20 million died. Even though all these people died, the country still supported Mao. It was now truly evident: the Great Leap Forward was an economic disaster.

Five hundred million peasants were suddenly put into 24,000 communes (Purcell 69). The last signs of capitalism, such as extra pay or time off, were eliminated. People worked 12 hours a day without any additional wages (70). The co

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