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| Mao Zedong |
Mao's Adaptation: Emulating Stalin's Model
Before the Chinese collectivisation campaign of 1955-56, a similar campaign was implemented in the Soviet Union in 1929-30. Both nations attempted to achieve nationwide breakthroughs in their economies. Both regimes endeavoured, over the course of several months, to effect a radical transition from small-scale producer to collectivized agriculture. In the USSR, under the New Economic Policy, the aim was to mobilize collectivized small peasant agriculture by consolidating individual holdings into unified units. Consequently, collectivization occurred not only at the village level but also within districts and even large regions. Stalin proposed that "all peasants must join the cooperatives." The goal was clear: to intensify grain production to feed the industrial workforce.
Mao's support of agricultural cooperatives in China simply followed the example set by Stalin. He realized keenly that industrialization in cities and collectivization in the countryside were essential for domestic development. The steep rise in population, with three-quarters residing in the countryside, limited the capacity to import goods for industrialization. Destruction caused by war and increased demand for agricultural products for consumption further hindered the Chinese economy. The Communist Party approached this challenge through the introduction of a five-year plan, a strategy employed by the Soviet Union. State-owned factories operated at maximum capacity with whatever resources they had at their disposal and also received significant support from the Soviet Union in terms of knowledge transfer and technical assistance. Thus, the projected need for more agricultural products to support urban development underscored the importance of China's countryside.
Mao's support of agricultural cooperatives in China simply followed the example set by Stalin. He realized keenly that industrialization in cities and collectivization in the countryside were essential for domestic development. The steep rise in population, with three-quarters residing in the countryside, limited the capacity to import goods for industrialization. Destruction caused by war and increased demand for agricultural products for consumption further hindered the Chinese economy. The Communist Party approached this challenge through the introduction of a five-year plan, a strategy employed by the Soviet Union. State-owned factories operated at maximum capacity with whatever resources they had at their disposal and also received significant support from the Soviet Union in terms of knowledge transfer and technical assistance. Thus, the projected need for more agricultural products to support urban development underscored the importance of China's countryside.
Implementing Collectivization: Mechanisms and Strategies
The strategy of collectivization in agriculture served a dual purpose: mobilizing rural labour and increasing overall yield. Preceding this, land reforms were carried out throughout China, confiscating lands from landlords and redistributing them to farmers. This created a conducive mechanism for pooling resources under collectivization. Mao repeatedly referred to the agricultural cooperatives as "semi-socialism" and implemented them in different stages. The first stage was the formation of Mutual Aid Teams (MAT), where ten families collaborated to pool their labour, tools, and livestock. Next came the low-level Agricultural Producer's Cooperatives (APC), which consisted of collaborations among five teams. The final advanced stage involved the inclusion of higher-level cooperatives with low-level ones, creating units of 250 households that shared land, labour, tools, and livestock. The peasantry offered no active resistance, and the amalgamation of resources proceeded smoothly.
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