4 ms·
I recently learned about the bizarre idea of "backyard furnaces". Around 1958, Mao Zedong decided the way to modernize was for every neighborhood to build numer
by kens 6y ago
I recently learned about the bizarre idea of "backyard furnaces". Around 1958, Mao Zedong decided the way to modernize was for every neighborhood to build numerous small blast furnaces and manufacture iron. These hundreds of thousands of furnaces needed constant fuel, leading to massive deforestation. Most of the iron was low quality or unusable, so the backyard furnaces were abandoned after a few years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_furnace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_furnace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60_Q-kAZbXA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60_Q-kAZbXA
- throckmortra 6y agoMany of his ideas were ill-conceived: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_Campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_Campaign
- sudosysgen 6y agoMao was indeed a really bad administrator. It is said that he would have been remembered much more fondly if he died just after the success of the revolution. Pretty much half of the decisions he made led to a disaster.
- wahern 6y agoThe rise of Xi Jinping in China suggests that the memory of Mao's mistakes has long since faded, not just among the masses but also among the leadership. All the procedures and norms put into place to prevent another Mao from taking control have been systematically removed to give Xi Jinping greater power. I think the process started with Hu Jintao, who also held several key offices simultaneously, but the accumulation of power under Xi seems more transparent and deliberate and therefore more naive on the part of the leadership.