RedArmyCapybara

The claim that Mao Zedong engineered a famine and killed 50 million people is pervasive among Western liberals. It's been repeated so often that it has become accepted without serious historical analysis. This article examines that claim and asks a simple question: did Mao Zedong intentionally engineer a famine that killed 50 million people? Answering this question first requires situating the Great Leap Forward famine within the broader historical conditions of China. What Caused the Great Leap Forward Famine? The Great Leap Foward famine was the last in a long history of cyclical famines that occured frequently. Between 108 BC to 1911 AD, there was at least 1,828 recorded famines throughout China.³ Famines in China were historically caused by a multitude of intersecting factors, such as weather conditions like floods, typhoons, pests, plant diseases, and feudal agricultural infrastructure and farming methods. The CPC inherited this history of famines and the conditions that creat...