After World War II, China was in a deep state of hardship, which certainly left space for improvement. Mao Zedong was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and the founding father of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese depression enabled Mao Zedong, along with the Communist Party to gain power, helping China to rebuild after WWII. Under Mao, China tried to bolster itself using an extremely restricted societal model for its citizens. However, due to poor leadership and questionable motives, Mao built a horrendous foundation for the post World War II China. Mao was an unfit leader because he restricted the freedoms of the people, his plans failed, and because he unfairly treated and killed many Chinese people. .
Due to the devastating battles in World War II, China was in desperate need for a leader that could lead them out of the depression. This was the perfect chance for Mao Zedong to come to power and be that leader. For example, most farms were destroyed, industrial work had almost ceased and transportation was barely functional. All the hardships left citizens suffering from famines. To kickstart the growth of China, the Communist Party, and its delegates were put into most key government and military official positions. The new laws created in China were headed by its ruler. The Party tried to subdue China, bring inflation down and lessen corruption throughout the country. While these all sound like good things, the Communist party took violent actions, killing about one million people to "clean up" the country. This and more was detailed in the Five-Year Plan, aimed at developing economic growth and land reform (Cairns). In effort to ameliorate the land ownership, the government murdered millions of landlords in effort to redistribute farmland for the peasants control. Killing millions is no justification for growing a country. Though there was some opposition to the collective farming, China pulled through, and the Five-Year Plan succeeded, at the expense of lives of Chinese people.