Annotations on an Excerpted Document Concerning the Campaign Against Adventurism〔1〕 (January 1958) Criticism of Both the Anti-Rightist Campaign and the “More, Faster, Better, Cheaper” Policy I. Excerpt from the Annual Budget Report (Delivered at the Third Session of the First National People’s Congress in Month 1956) The development of production and all other undertakings must be based on a sound and reliable foundation. While combating conservatism, we must at the same time oppose the tendency toward impetuous adventurism; such a tendency has already emerged in many departments and regions over the past few months. The result of impetuous adventurism does not advance the socialist cause but only leads to losses. II. We Must Oppose Both Conservatism and Impetuousness (Editorial in the People’s Daily, Date 1956) Since the latter half of last year, we have waged a struggle against conservatism, which has yielded significant results. Through this struggle, rightist conservative ideas have been thoroughly criticized, and everyone has come to recognize the dangers they pose. … The reason why impetuousness has become a serious problem is that it not only exists among cadres at lower levels but, more importantly, among leading cadres in various higher-level systems. Much of the impetuous adventurism at the grassroots level is actually forced upon them from above. As soon as the Forty Articles on the National Agricultural Development Program were issued, each department was eager not to be labeled rightist or conservative and rushed to set excessively high targets when assigning tasks downward—directives were sent down through every channel, often with very tight deadlines. Each ministry hoped its own work would quickly produce visible results. With dozens of central ministries each issuing its own directives, passed down layer by layer and even increasingly intensified at each level, the lower echelons inevitably found themselves unable to cope. The central authorities are now taking a series of measures to correct this indiscriminate, hasty approach that disregards priorities and specific conditions. In some cases, the adventurist tendencies in various departments and localities have already been corrected; in others, the correction has been incomplete or insufficient. However, as a ideological tendency, it cannot be completely overcome overnight and will require our continued attention in the future. Why, after having fought against right-wing conservatism, did certain areas again fall into the trap of blind adventurism? This is mainly due to the one-sidedness of our thinking. Because we failed to employ a dialectical method—to view problems comprehensively within their contradictions and interconnections—and instead looked at matters solely from one side or one angle, we tended to see things as too rigid and absolute. Furthermore, inadequate investigation and research left us with an insufficient understanding of the actual situation, creating a sense of uncertainty and blindness. Under these circumstances, it was naturally easy for our actions to become one-sided and biased. Following the campaign against conservatism, particularly after the central leadership put forward the policy of “more, faster, better, cheaper” and released the Draft National Agricultural Development Program, a one-sided mindset took hold among many comrades. They reasoned that since conservatism was being opposed, since the guiding principle was “more, faster, better, cheaper,” and since the Forty Articles were to be implemented, all work should proceed without regard to priority or feasibility, pressing ahead simultaneously on all fronts in an attempt to accomplish everything overnight. Thus, having swung from one extreme to another, errors were bound to occur. Right-wing conservative ideas are harmful to our cause, and so are those advocating impetuous adventurism; both tendencies must therefore be opposed. Going forward, we must continue to critically examine and eradicate all manifestations of right-wing conservatism to ensure that the socialist construction effort advances without hindrance. At the same time, however, we should not neglect or relax our efforts to combat impetuous adventurism. Only by opposing both right-wing conservatism and impetuous adventurism can we move forward correctly. When addressing conservatism and impetuous adventurism, we must adopt a realistic and pragmatic attitude. There is an objective standard for distinguishing between right-wing conservatism and impetuous adventurism: namely, the actual possibilities presented by objective reality. The proper working method consists in aligning our plans and steps with these real possibilities. Anything lagging behind these possibilities constitutes right-wing conservatism; anything exceeding them represents impetuous adventurism. In your region or department, are there instances of right-wing conservatism or impetuous adventurism? Which specific cases fall into each category? Is right-wing conservatism the dominant trend, or is impetuous adventurism more prevalent? How severe is the conservatism, and how severe is the adventurism? These questions must be analyzed concretely, not merely speculated upon. It is quite possible that within the same department or region, one matter may exhibit conservative tendencies while another reflects impetuous adventurism. We should base our judgments on facts: oppose whatever bias is present and correct errors to the extent they exist, avoiding sweeping generalizations that would label everything as either conservative or adventurist. Overzealous opposition can backfire, giving rise to new biases that ultimately prove detrimental to our work. … Printed here according to the original documents preserved in the Central Archives.

Note [1] This is an annotation made by Mao Zedong in January 1958 during the Nanning Conference on an excerpted document concerning the campaign against adventurism. The annotations are printed alongside the original text, with the underlines, wavy lines, vertical lines, and triangles in the original text having been drawn by Mao during his annotations. Mao’s annotations are typeset in Song typeface.