ABSTRACT
The communes which came into being in the wake of the Great Leap Forward phase of Chinese socialism (1958–1962) represent a powerful conceptualization of localizing governance. Communes had roots in Karl Marx's writings though Mao Zedong, who is credited with the articulation of the idea, also found out that the Chinese author K'ang Yu Wei had referred to the commune in his text with the title Ta Tung Shu which he wrote during the course of almost two years between 1894 and 1895. Etymologically, a commune provides a forum where a group of people live together sharing resources and responsibilities which means that it is both a device of coming together and a means of instilling the value of being together by sharing resources and responsibilities. As communes were functional units, they had independent functions which were always coordinated by those who mattered in the decision making at the three levels of commune, brigade and team.
