Then, the impatient Mao already started planning a second Five-Year Plan - this time called the Great Leap Forward. Anxious to develop China faster, Mao made the Great Leap Forward aimed at simultaneously giving economic growth and creating an entirely socialist society. Communists wanted to make it clear that if they gain industrial power, it would grow China. According to the plan, they would increase industrial output so much so that it will meet or exceed the standards of other countries. They used many tactics such as developing more technologically advanced machinery, increasing productivity and even requiring normal citizens to make their own iron and steel. Then, to increase production even more, Mao created collective communities, dubbed communes. These were smaller farms working together for output. Each commune was a combination of smaller farm collectives. In order to put this radical plan into action, Mao implemented the Anti-Rightist Movement (Xiang). This action effectively suppressed all opposition when he implemented the communes. Mao and his government essentially controlled every aspect of a citizen's life, limiting their potential. Even after all the work Mao did with the Great Leap Forward, it failed miserably. Over 20 million people starved while industrial work had decreased; the opposite of what was projected. Mao Zedong wasn't prepared for this, and China was rapidly falling (The Rise). .
Due to his failure in the Great Leap Forward, Mao's reputation was seriously damaged. He gave up his day-to-day administrative activities to Liu Shaoqi. Although Mao wasn't the top leader, he still had a great impact on the actions of the government in China. First off, he started the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution was aimed at gaining control of China, and forcing the conversion over to socialist ideas. The approach Mao proposed was violent, brutal and simply unnecessary.
