The Great Leap Forward

The Great Leap Forward was a campaign initiated by the Chinese Communist Party from 1958 to 1962, aimed at rapidly transforming China's agrarian economy into an industrialized one. It sought to increase agricultural and industrial production through collective farming and mass mobilization of labor. However, the policy was poorly planned and led to widespread famine and economic disruption, resulting in an estimated 15 to 45 million deaths. Ultimately, the campaign failed to achieve its goals and is regarded as one of the most tragic episodes in modern Chinese history, illustrating the dangers of overly ambitious economic policies.