Mao's Great Famine by Frank Dikotter

[scroobal]

If anyone has the opportunity pick up this book by Sinologist and LSE Prof on one of the greatest human tragedy in mankind. It about the Great Leap Forward which ended in an unprecedented disaster or unimaginable proportion. It was was worst than Hitler, Stalin or even Pol Pot. An estimated 20 to 45 million perished mainly from famine.

The Great Leap Forward was a desire to push both Industrial and Agrarian output over and above the UK and the US to achieve modernisation. Interestingly it mirrors PAP's policy of focus on GDP at the expense of all us. Another interesting similarity is that Mao unlike Stalin, Hitler or Pol Pot had to work cajole, persuade and influence his colleagues in the Politburo to go along with his plan. The same can be said of the Singapore cabinet and the blind following of the wrong policy.

In the first year of the policy, steel production went by 45% and the following year by 30%. then all hell broke lose and the economy went into regression.

PAP is wondering why with its stellar performance with the economy, they have lost more seats than ever before.

As you read this book, you will see so many parallels that you will be surprised.

 

[brocoli]

If anyone has the opportunity pick up this book by Sinologist and LSE Prof on one of the greatest human tragedy in mankind. It about the Great Leap Forward which ended in an unprecedented disaster or unimaginable proportion. It was was worst than Hitler, Stalin or even Pol Pot. An estimated 20 to 45 million perished mainly from famine.

The Great Leap Forward was a desire to push both Industrial and Agrarian output over and above the UK and the US to achieve modernisation. Interestingly it mirrors PAP's policy of focus on GDP at the expense of all us. Another interesting similarity is that Mao unlike Stalin, Hitler or Pol Pot had to work cajole, persuade and influence his colleagues in the Politburo to go along with his plan. The same can be said of the Singapore cabinet and the blind following of the wrong policy.

In the first year of the policy, steel production went by 45% and the following year by 30%. then all hell broke lose and the economy went into regression.

PAP is wondering why with its stellar performance with the economy, they have lost more seats than ever before.

As you read this book, you will see so many parallels that you will be surprised.

this is what will happen when you think you are god and can manage the economy..... WP please take note.... you can even take over 2 GRC and you wan to run the SMRT... how delusional ???

likewise for oBama.... you cant spend your way out of a recession.....
common sense101

 

[mojito]

I think the failure of central planning has to do with not being able to understand human motivations, in this case the bureaucracy. In a free market economy, capital allocation is significantly more effective, largely due to the nature of risk and reward throguh private incentives. I think the beginning of meaningful discussions has to start from acknowledging these lessons learnt from the pages of history.

Today the SG government takes a hands-off approach on private enterprises, but continues to incentivize the public sector to create GDP growth. If I were a public sector economist with real money and bonus on the line, I know the easiest way to create/inflate economic output is to sell more real estate. The greater the volume and higher the price, the better my bonus is going to be.

The same can be said for the utter lack of regulations in many sectors of the economy. The will to act is dampened by the incentives not to.

That is why, I have made a consistent plea on this forum to illustrate that these (incentives) are the real "crooks". Some of the leadership may have benefited in some way, but I suspect most are just clueless about how key persons in the public and private sectors are involved in an elaborate concert.

 

[zhihau]

PAP is wondering why with its stellar performance with the economy, they have lost more seats than ever before.

in a true democracy, the general public wouldn't like anyone to hold on to power for a long time, extrapolate that to the scale of a political party. not too hard to see

 

[sleaguepunter]

the great leap forward was a mao project to show mao can run the economy as good or better than chen yi. by the mid 50s, none of his comrades dare to go against mao wishes. then the middle level cadres took mao words as gospel and force the farmers to abandon the fields to work in the backyard smelters which produce useless iron. With the farmers not working in the fields, grain production fell but cadres worry about production quota submit falsified harvest tonnages. so they send the quota to central govt storage and left nothing for the peasants. so the central govt have no idea of the starvation cause by the man made famine until it was too late.

which is also happening here as can see pinkie being clueless of what happening to the masses and tot his rebate of $45 for utilities is a great help to the citizens.

 

[scroobal]

You certainly know your stuff. The backyard smelters output was counted in the official statistics but the quality was so bad that the ended back in the same smelters.

Like the SMRT, the forgot about transport and the harvested grains lay rotting in warehouses while people starved to death.

the great leap forward was a mao project to show mao can run the economy as good or better than chen yi. by the mid 50s, none of his comrades dare to go against mao wishes. then the middle level cadres took mao words as gospel and force the farmers to abandon the fields to work in the backyard smelters which produce useless iron. With the farmers not working in the fields, grain production fell but cadres worry about production quota submit falsified harvest tonnages. so they send the quota to central govt storage and left nothing for the peasants. so the central govt have no idea of the starvation cause by the man made famine until it was too late.

which is also happening here as can see pinkie being clueless of what happening to the masses and tot his rebate of $45 for utilities is a great help to the citizens.