How did Mao establish communism in China? In what ways did the Great Leap Forward fail?
When Mao first came into power in the 1950s, he tried to follow the example of the Soviet Union. By 1955, China had collectivized and had state owned industry, which was the Soviet model. But Mao found that the growth of China was not as great as he wanted it to be. He became disillusioned with the Soviet model and he thought he could improve upon it and bring communism overnight. He was truly a utopian thinker. In the late 1957, he launched what has been called the Great Leap Forward where he would transform China overnight. He set up these communes, he was going to set them up all over the country, primarily in the countryside. They were supposed to be self-sufficient, supply all their own needs, all their own industrial needs as well as agricultural needs. Thats why you had these backyard furnaces making this useless steel — iron and steel — but they didnt produce anything. At the same time, the collectives were forced to produce huge amounts of grain that were sent abroad for har
