Mass mobilisation

The plan therefore relied on mass mobilisation: organising the whole population to meet ambitious production targets. Mao’s confidence in political enthusiasm helps explain both the scale of the campaign and its neglect of practical limitations.

Mass mobilisation meant organising millions of people to work towards ambitious production targets. For Mao, collective effort would not only increase output: it would help create a society in which people worked for the whole community rather than personal gain. This was an aim, not an achieved outcome.