承載了毛澤東共產主義大夢的人民公社，起源於中共在建國初期為了快速工業化而採行的斯大林式的經濟政策－以國家工業化和農業集體化為中心。在工商業上，將私人資本的工商業統一由國家經營管理；在農業上，則逐漸將個體農民組織進互助組、初級合作社(土地入股)、高級合作社(土地、農具公有)，以使強大的行政力能組織人力，能用統購統銷政策來提供物力，以滿足國家工業化的需求。 在這一過程中，毛澤東用他最高領袖的地位來加速農業合作化和向社會主義過渡。而1955年的社會主義改造(對資本主義工商業和個體農業、個體手工業)成功和「一五」計劃取得的高發展速度使得毛澤東滿懷信心的提出超英趕美的「大躍進」口號，於是行政強制力更加強大的人民公社也就很快在大陸推行了。但出乎毛澤東的意料，1958年組織起來的人民公社很快就遇到了大困難，農業生產弄虛作假；大煉鋼鐵效益低落，使得毛澤東必須出面為人民公社向共產主義過渡降溫－退回生產大隊所有制。 此後，人民公社所有制再三反覆－廬山會議後開始窮過渡；農村發生大饑荒後又退回生產小隊所有制，「農業學大寨」再度向生產大隊所有制過渡，毛澤東始終堅持農業必須集體化。直到毛澤東去世，以鄧小平為首的改革派突破了農業集體化的藩籬，允許了包產到戶和一部分人先富起來的經濟政策，改變了大陸的經濟面貌。 Bearing Mao Zedong’s big dream of communism, the People’s Commune originated in the early years when the CCP adopted the Stalinist economic policies for rapid industrialization, that is, to center on the industrialization of the country and the collectivization of agriculture. In industry and commerce, the industry and commerce of private capital were operated and managed by the state in agriculture, individual farmers were gradually organized into mutual-aid team, elementary cooperatives (land shares) and advanced cooperatives (public land and farm implements) sothat enable strong administrative power to organize manpower and to provide material resources by state monopoly of the purchase and marketing in order to meet the needs of the country’s industrialization. In this process, leader Mao accelerated the cooperative transformation of agriculture and the transition to socialism availing himself of the supreme leader position In 1955, the success in socialist transformation (towards capitalist industry and commerce, individual farming and individual handicraft) as well as the high growth rate from “First Five-year Plan” brought Mao to put forward the slogan of “Great Leap Forward” for overtaking Britain and America with full confidence, so the People’s Commune with more powerful administrative enforcement force was soon launched in mainland. But out of Mao’s expectation, the People’s Commune organized in 1958 soon encountered great difficulties resulting from agricultural production deception and low efficiency of producing iron and steel on a large scale, which obligated Mao to come forward to slow down the transition from People’s Commune to communism and return to production brigade ownership. Since then, People’s Commune ownership was repeated over and over again then began to transit to poor condition after Lushan Conference and returned to the production team ownership after great famine occurred in rural areas. “Learning from Dazhai in agriculture” transited to production brigade ownership again Mao Zedong always adhered to the collectivization of agriculture. Until Mao’s death, the reformers led by Deng Xiaoping broke the barriers of collectivization of agriculture and allowed the economic policies of household contract production and some people’s getting rich first, which changed mainland’s economic outlook.
