The Second Five-Year Plan
- Created by: gabrielprince14
- Created on: 23-04-16 10:14
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- How the Second Five-Year Plan worked (1958-1962)
- Decentralisation
- Under the plan, economic activity was to be decentralised.
- The idea was to give more freedom to Cadres.
- Mao believed that Cadres had the potential to unleash the potential of millions of peasants.
- He believed that if state bureaucrats continued to control state planning, it would hold back the pace of the changes
- Backyard furnaces
- Industry as to 'leap' forward by producing as much steel as possible.
- Mao announced in 1957 that steel production would quadruple in the next 4 years
- When the target of 10.7 million tons of steel wasn't met, the backyard furnaces campaign was launched.
- People were encouraged to build these furnaces and melt all their metal objects to create steel.
- The response was spectacular and became a national movement immediately.
- In September 1958, 14% of China's steel came from backyard furnaces and by October 1958, 49%.
- People were encouraged to build these furnaces and melt all their metal objects to create steel.
- Negatives
- Food production decreased as people were focusing on melting steel instead.
- It was only in spring 1959, that the it was realised the steel being produced was useless.
- The scheme wasn't stopped but was cut-back
- There were huge ecological impacts. Whole woodlands were destroyed and this lead to increased flooding.
- State-owned enterprises
- The enterprises that were private had been nationalised in 1956.
- Workers were guaranteed jobs and wages as well as other benefits. This removed incentives to work harder.
- Prices, targets and wages were all controlled by the state.
- Construction projects
- The new irrigation schemes were a disaster. They were not properly planned.
- For example the Three Gorges Dam was built to control the flow of the Yellow River, however it was being rebuilt within a year.
- There were small successful projects but the human cost was high and people were being taken away from food production.
- The new irrigation schemes were a disaster. They were not properly planned.
- Decentralisation
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