People's Republic of China[edit]
Under the leadership of Mao Zedong (1949–1976), the People's Republic of China experienced an era of collectivization. Similar to Stalin's ideals, Mao tried to rapidly convert the Chinese economy to a socialist society through industrialization and collectivization, in a period known as, "The Great Leap Forward."[17] The era was a disaster for the Chinese people, due to the inability of the farmers to meet quota expectations, which caused "The Great Chinese Famine," where nearly 30 million people died of hunger.
After the death of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping reformed the collective farming method. From this time, nearly all Chinese crops began to blossom, not just grain. The reform included the removal of land from rich land owners for use of agricultural land for peasants, but not ownership. This policy increased production and helped reverse the effects of The Great Leap Forward which killed millions of people.
The two main reasons why China succeeded was because 1) the government chose to make gradual changes, which kept the monopoly of the Communist Party and 2) because the reform process began from the bottom and later expanded to the top. Throughout the reform process, the Communist Party reacted positively to the bottom-up reform initiatives that emerged from the rural population. Deng Xiaoping described the reform process as, “fording the river by feeling for the stones.” This statement refers to the Chinese people who called for the reforms they wanted, by “placing the stones at his feet” and he would then just approve the reforms the people wanted. The peasants started their own “household responsibility system” apart from the government.
After Chinese trade was privately deemed successful, all Xiaoping had to do was approve its legalization. This increased competition between farmers domestically and internationally, meaning the low wage working class began to be known worldwide, increasing the Chinese FDI.[18]
A 2017 study found that Chinese peasants slaughtered massive numbers of draft animals as a response to collectivization, as this would allow them to keep the meat and hide, and not transfer the draft animals to the collectives.[19] The study estimates that "the animal loss during the movement was 12 to 15 percent, or 7.4-9.5 million head. Grain output dropped by 7 percent due to lower animal inputs and lower productivity."[19]
Mongolia[edit]
North Korea[edit]
In the late 1990s, the collective farming system collapsed under a strain of droughts. Estimates of deaths due to starvation ranged into the millions, although the government did not allow outside observers to survey the extent of the famine. Aggravating the severity of the famine, the government was accused of diverting international relief supplies to its armed forces. Agriculture in North Korea has suffered tremendously from natural disasters, a lack of fertile land, and government mismanagement, often causing the nation to rely on foreign aid as its primary source of food.
Vietnam[edit]
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam implemented collective farming although de jureprivate ownership existed. Starting in 1958 collective farming was pushed such that by 1960, 85% of farmers and 70% of farmlands were collectivized including those seized by force.[20] Collectivization however was seen by the communist leadership as a half-measure when compared to full state ownership.[21]
Following the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the South Vietnam briefly came under the authority of a Provisional Revolutionary Government, a puppet state under military occupation by North Vietnam, before being officially reunified with the North under Communist rule as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 2 July 1976. Upon taking control, the Vietnamese communists banned other political parties, arrested suspects believed to have collaborated with the United States and embarked on a mass campaign of collectivization of farms and factories. Private land ownership was "transformed" to subsume under State and collective ownership.[22] Reconstruction of the war-ravaged country was slow and serious humanitarian and economic problems confronted the communist regime.
In a historic shift in 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam implemented free-marketreforms known as Đổi Mới (Renovation). With the authority of the state remaining unchallenged, private enterprise, deregulation and foreign investment were encouraged. Land ownership nonetheless is the sole prerogative of the state. The economy of Vietnam has achieved rapid growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction and housing, exports and foreign investment. However, the power of the Communist Party of Vietnam over all organs of government remains firm.
Cuba[edit]
In the initial years that followed the Cuban Revolution, government authorities experimented with agricultural and farming production cooperatives. Between 1977 and 1983, farmers began to collectivize into CPAs – Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria (Agricultural Production Cooperatives).
Farmers were encouraged to sell their land to the state for the establishment of a cooperative farm, receiving payments for a period of 20 years while also sharing in the fruits of the CPA. Joining a CPA allowed individuals who were previously dispersed throughout the countryside to move to a centralized location with increased access to electricity, medical care, housing, and schools. Democratic practice tends to be limited to business decisions and is constrained by the centralized economic planning of the Cuban system.
Another type of agricultural production cooperative in Cuba is UBPC – Unidad Básica de Producción Cooperativa (Basic Unit of Cooperative Production). The law authorizing the creation of UBPCs was passed on 20 September 1993. It has been used to transform many state farms into UBPCs, similar to the transformation of Russian sovkhozes (state farms) into kolkhozes (collective farms) since 1992. The law granted indefinite usufruct to the workers of the UBPC in line with its goal of linking the workers to the land. It established material incentives for increased production by tying workers' earnings to the overall production of the UBPC, and increased managerial autonomy and workers' participation in the management of the workplace.
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