ABSTRACT
The collective farm was the centrepiece of the rural development strategy during the late Maoist era.1 Inspired by the writings of Lenin, the CCP hoped that collectives would allow the mobilization of the rural force on an unprecedented scale. This mobilization would bring about big increases in output and create the conditions for farm mechanization. And mechanization would in turn enable labour to be released for use in China’s growing industrial sector. Labour was rural China’s main asset. The function of the collective was to put it to good use.
