Mao’s Great Leap Forward, which began in the late 1950’s, had three main goals within the reforms. These goals centred around agricultural, industrial and ideological reform. Mao aimed to dramatically increase agricultural output which he believed needed to be complimented by an increase in industrial output. Mao was also aiming to move from socialism into communism during this period. Similarly Khrushchev’s reforms of the 1950’s also centred around these same themes of agriculture, industrial and ideological reforms. However, Khrushchev’s aims and plans in many respects were different to Mao’s. Khrushchev largely aimed to move away from the Stalinist period and this is reflected in his reforms. Despite their different goals and executions
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Mao planned to move cement the revolution though a ‘drastic remoulding of the people’s ideology’48. Mao cemented the revolution in the country side by instituting ‘some variety of land reform’ which began with mass land reform and ended in the creation of the people’s communes. This was in order to ‘maintain the wide basis of peasant support’49 as Mao had feared the peasants and rural cadres were ‘too concerned with gaining a better living’50. The people’s communes also acted to enforce the idea of communism by breaking down the traditional family structure and the pooling of house hold duties51. Another aspect of his plan to further make China communist involved the purging of party cadres who had come to think of themselves as elite and were at risk of ‘taking the capitalist road’52. During the Great Leap Forward, and later the Cultural Revolution, ‘attacks were launched against people in high positions who inflated their own image and demanded deferential behaviour from subordinates.’53 Mao did this in order to re-affirm his beliefs of supporting the lower class within the Chinese Communist Party. Though these ideological reforms were not at the forefront of the Great Leap Forward, they are still significant in the change that occurred during the period and these reforms also helped lead Mao to his Cultural
Mao planned to move cement the revolution though a ‘drastic remoulding of the people’s ideology’48. Mao cemented the revolution in the country side by instituting ‘some variety of land reform’ which began with mass land reform and ended in the creation of the people’s communes. This was in order to ‘maintain the wide basis of peasant support’49 as Mao had feared the peasants and rural cadres were ‘too concerned with gaining a better living’50. The people’s communes also acted to enforce the idea of communism by breaking down the traditional family structure and the pooling of house hold duties51. Another aspect of his plan to further make China communist involved the purging of party cadres who had come to think of themselves as elite and were at risk of ‘taking the capitalist road’52. During the Great Leap Forward, and later the Cultural Revolution, ‘attacks were launched against people in high positions who inflated their own image and demanded deferential behaviour from subordinates.’53 Mao did this in order to re-affirm his beliefs of supporting the lower class within the Chinese Communist Party. Though these ideological reforms were not at the forefront of the Great Leap Forward, they are still significant in the change that occurred during the period and these reforms also helped lead Mao to his Cultural