More evidence of socialism’s failure
On Sept. 9, 1976, Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong made the greatest contribution in history to alleviating world hunger — he died. Between 1959 and 1961 an estimated 30 million Chinese perished from malnutrition as the result of Mao’s harebrained socialist industrial and agricultural policies. The 30 million estimated deaths might even be understating it a bit. The Great Chinese Famine had ideological and political roots and possibly caused more deaths than the World War it followed. That famine is probably the most overlooked atrocity of the 20th century, and there were plenty.
The causes of the famine can be directly traced to Mao’s Stalinist inspired industrialization plan, his “Great Leap Forward.”
This movement was intended to attain in a few short years the industrial capability that had taken other nations a half century or more to achieve.
Although Mao’s plan failed miserably, today the Chinese have a modern industrial economy that in most years also produces enough food to feed their people. And all this came about through introducing capitalist economic principles into a failing socialist economy.
For almost 60 years the Chinese have stubbornly refused to reveal the real number of deaths from the famine, but the best estimates indicate over 30 million. And over a half century later China has yet to openly discuss the causes, results and details. But it was undeniably caused by Mao’s and the Communist Party’s decision to massively mobilize China’s huge population in an all-out industrialization effort to the neglect of food production.
Following Stalinist doctrine Mao sacrificed agricultural production for the development of the steel industry. He took millions of workers from the fields and put them to work mining coal, limestone and iron ore and cutting trees for charcoal. Millions of peasant farmers were forced to abandon all food production.
But the poorly-designed, hastily-constructed steel mills could only produce low-grade cast iron unsuitable for even crude tools. Contrary to fabricated production reports Mao’s newly formed agriculture communes failed to produce even half the food China needed. Add to this
The Great Chinese Famine had ideological and political roots and possibly caused more deaths than the World War it followed. That famine is probably the most overlooked atrocity of the 20th century, and there were plenty.
several severe droughts and the Chinese probably experienced the worst famine in human history. But the Communist leadership was too stubborn to make the necessary changes or ask for foreign aid, which probably would have been forthcoming. Instead, they hid the real facts from their own people and the world.
China’s opening up to the world following President Nixon’s 1972 visit to Beijing was key in its agricultural recovery. They began by ordering 13 modern American-made nitrogen fertilizer plants. After more orders China quickly became the world’s leading nitrogen fertilizer producer.
Following Mao’s death in 1976, the Communist leadership dissolved all agricultural communes and allowed farm prices to respond to market supply and demand forces. By 1984 food rationing was lifted and China, while not yet entirely self-sufficient in food production, had much fewer hunger problems.
Although the Great Chinese Famine offers a classic opportunity to study planned economies compared to free economies, a scholarly assessment of the famine has yet to take place and maybe never will. The Chinese Communists place a high priority on face-saving and refuse to make the necessary information available to scholars. Sad.
Note: As of the year 2020, over 100 years after Russia’s Communist Revolution, a successful socialist economy has yet to exist. Isn’t it time they gave up?
George B. Reed Jr., who lives in Rossville, can be reached by email at reed1600@ bellsouth.net.