“Mao Zedong’s economic policies were a failure.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

The question requires that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the statement that Mao Zedong’s economic policies were a failure. Candidates should refer to Mao’s key economic policies, such as Land Reform Law, the First Five-Year Plan and the Great Leap Forward. Candidates are likely to argue that these policies had different levels of success and failure. Land Reform could be seen as a successful policy as it did give the peasants land, but they were often ill-equipped and lacking experience to effectively farm. The First Five-Year Plan had numerous successes, particularly the rise in industrial production. However, candidates may argue that the introduction of collective farming was a failure. Candidates may argue that the Great Leap Forward was a complete failure and give examples such as the Backyard Steel Campaign and the Great Famine. Candidates may argue that some of these policies failed from an economic perspective, but did have social and political successes, such as greater control over the lives of the people. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates consider the merits or otherwise of the statement that Mao Zedong's economic policies were a failure. This was clearly the most popular question on the paper, but for the most part, it was not handled particularly well. Candidates appeared to know many of the key details of Mao's economic policies, but the evaluation of these policies was often very limited. There were a few excellent responses where candidates had considered the economic, political and social impact of Mao's economic policies before concluding whether or not they were a failure. However, many of the weaker responses got very confused and ended up writing in-depth on a whole range of political and social developments. These responses did not score highly because they were not sufficiently focused on the demands of the question.