Mao's Economic Policies

Which statement about the Agrarian Reform Law is TRUE?

• It was accompanied by a Speak Bitterness Campaign denouncing the bourgeoisie and destroying their traditional class dominance

• Mao meant it to be a permanent reform.

• Poor peasants received land in 1950, leading to complete equality

• It had a primarily negative impact on CCP's popular support.

• It was accompanied by mutual aid teams that pooled tools and livestock, increasing productivity.

Answer explanation

Speak Bitterness targeted landlords.

Landlords became poorest, there was no complete equality.

Since peasants got more land and improved productivity through mutual aid teams, there was more popular support for the CCP.

However, eventually Mao intended to take back the land through the Great Leap Forward, since Communism involved collective ownership of land.

Which statement about the 1st 5-Year Plan is UNTRUE?

• It achieved high economic growth.

• It involved self-reliance.

• It provided secure employment.

• It allowed Mao to surveillance urban workers in danwei.

• There were limited increase in consumer goods, limiting improvement in living standards.

Answer explanation

Mao depended on Soviet aid and advisers.

Which statement about the Great Leap Forward is UNTRUE?

• It was simultaneous radical collectivisation into communes & rapid industrialisation through backyard steel furnaces

• The CCP government took over ownership of land, tools & livestock, for communism.

• The Great Leap Forward did not meet its aims to repay Soviet loans or force most of the peasants into communes.

• Productivity dropped due to flawed methods like 4 Pests Campaign and lack of incentive

• Targets were exaggerated as CCP cadres feared persecution if they failed and craved promotion if they exceeded.

Answer explanation

Considerable grain was requisitioned to repay Soviet loans.

The Great Leap Forward caused f_____ where over >20 million died. However, Mao blamed the famine on n______ disasters. Although there were several floods and droughts during this period, it was not w_________. This reduced Mao's c__________ as he had declared in 1949 that no one should die of h_____. (spell in full no commas)

Why did Mao have to import grain from Canada during the Great Leap Forward? Why is this ironic?

Answer explanation

Productivity drops and requisition to USSR led to famine.

Ironic since Mao wanted self-reliance and had denounced capitalist countries as ideological enemies.

Match the following

• redistribute land from landlords to peasants

• Agrarian Reform Law

• communes & backyard steel furnaces

• Great Leap Forward

• denounce and neutralise landlords

• 1st 5-Year Plan

• rapid industrialisation, focus on heavy industry, through semi-private enterprises

• Speak Bitterness Campaign

Reorder chronologically

• 1st 5-Year Plan

• Great Famine

• Great Leap Forward

• Agrarian Reform Law