Central Committee Endorsement of the Central-South Bureau’s Instruction Not to Stress the Organization of Production Mutual-Aid Teams (August 6, 1950)

To All Central Bureaus:  We are transmitting herewith the Central-South Bureau’s instruction [1] advising against emphasizing the establishment of production mutual-aid teams in the southern regions, for your reference.

Printed from Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft on August 6.

Notes  [1] Refers to a telegram dated August 1, 1950, sent by the CPC Central Committee’s Central-South Bureau to its sub-bureaus, provincial committees, and regional party committees, with a copy to the Central Committee.  The telegram noted that in many localities of the Central-South region, undue emphasis had been placed on organizing production mutual-aid teams during the summer agricultural season, leading to coercive orders from lower-level organizations, wasteful expenditure of labor, encroachment upon the interests of middle peasants, and disruption of normal production. It pointed out that, in general, southern areas are densely populated but have limited arable land; what is lacking is not labor, but rather land, capital, draught animals, and stable production morale. Therefore, priority should be given to resolving issues such as the rationalization of tax burdens and rent reductions or refunds, the improvement of water conservancy projects, the protection and increase of draught animal stocks, and the procurement of mountain products and local specialties—rather than to promoting the formation of production mutual-aid teams. In certain areas where labor is scarce, small-scale experiments in mutual assistance and cooperation may be conducted only under conditions of voluntary association among the masses and with extreme caution. At present, widespread promotion of such groups is entirely inappropriate; moreover, cadres should be strictly prohibited from compelling the masses to engage in mutual aid activities. Detailed consideration should be reserved for a later stage, after the land reform has been completed and adequate technical and material conditions have been established.