The First Secretary must personally take charge of industry.

"Unified planning, tiered management, priority construction, and supporting development." The Tianjin Prefecture has set up a 40,000-ton steel plant, which is their priority. Tiered management means that under the unified plan, a small portion—about 20 percent (investment and profits can go to the central government)—is managed by the central government, while the majority, about 80 percent, is managed locally. When steel output reaches ×× tons by 1962, how to manage it will depend on the situation. Where to place the priority depends on where the conditions exist; it won't work to only pursue decentralization without exercising central control. To achieve speed, the Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation can be developed faster. But if every county and commune were to unleash "steel enthusiasm," that would be disastrous. There must be control; democracy alone cannot be the sole focus. Combine Marx with Qin Shi Huang.

The whole Party must run industry, and all levels must run industry, but always under a unified plan, with clear priorities and supporting elements. Everyone can engage in projects that do not hinder the priorities, but anything that obstructs the priorities must be centralized. Each level should only handle what it is capable of; not every cooperative necessarily needs to run steel production. Cooperatives should mainly focus on coarse food processing, local fertilizers, farm tool repair and manufacturing, and digging small coal mines. One must refrain from certain activities before achieving success in others. Each collaborative region should have its own system, but provinces should have appropriate divisions of labor and not try to do everything. How much grain and how much steel should each province produce? In the future, each province should produce for its own consumption. Provinces should not think about transferring resources from elsewhere but should also prepare for some allocation from the central government. If Fujian produces ×× tons of steel, where will it be used? Large-scale steel production belongs to the central government, while small-scale production can be undertaken by provinces to some extent.

Decentralize power to local levels, with all levels (province, prefecture, county, township, cooperative) having authority, though the content and scope will vary. Tiered management should not result in the dispersal of raw materials.

Planning at all levels must be gradually strengthened. The production and distribution of cooperatives should also be brought under unified management step by step. Without rigorous planning and organization, it won't work. Grain production must also be planned: should we plant as many sweet potatoes next year? Should we plant so much cotton? Next year, let's make another strong push, and after reaching ×× jin of grain per person, we can reassess.

A socialist state is a tightly woven organizational network. Ten thousand years from now, with many people and many cars, even going out on the streets will require queuing; with more airplanes, air traffic control will also be necessary. When monkeys evolved into humans, they were very free, but going forward, there will be less and less freedom. On the other hand, humanity will be greatly liberated, consciously ruling the universe and unleashing boundless power.

We must eradicate bourgeois legalistic thinking. For example, jostling for status, jostling for rank, demanding overtime pay, higher wages for mental workers and lower wages for manual workers—these are all remnants of bourgeois ideology. "To each according to his contribution" is a legal stipulation and also a bourgeois concept. In the future, should there be distinctions of rank when riding in cars? There's no need to have special cars; the elderly and physically weak can receive some consideration, but for the rest, there will be no distinctions of rank.

Should we keep pushing grain production next year? Yes, keep pushing. Struggle hard for three years. Reserve one year's grain supply (×× jin per person). Sweet potatoes can be reduced a little.

All plans must be made public; no concealing output is allowed. Without control at the prefecture, county, and township levels, it won't work. If resources cannot be transferred out, coercive orders must be issued. From now on, evaluations will compare task completion, technological innovations, working methods, organizational discipline, orderliness, and rational central control. Only through extensive airing of views can central control be exercised. Currently, even iron and steel cannot be transferred out—tens of thousands of government entities failing in this regard is unacceptable.

We must also discuss the situation. Domestically, the entire nation is one large commune, which cannot lack priorities or a unified plan. From the central government to the cooperatives, there must be consistency from top to bottom, with some flexibility. But flexibility pertains only to supporting details and must not hinder the backbone. Steel output next year must reach ×× tons, and this year's ×× tons must be guaranteed.

When provincial Party secretaries return, they must immediately establish the dictatorship of the proletariat. The chain of command must be responsive: each region has one head, each province can have only one leader—"every grievance has its cause, every debt has its debtor." In Handan, a cooperative drove a cart to the Anshan Iron and Steel Corporation demanding iron, refusing to leave without it. So many people running around everywhere must be fundamentally prohibited. Balance must be achieved level by level, with reports submitted upward step by step: cooperative to county, county to prefecture, prefecture to province. This is called socialist order. The central government also has only one head. The central head for steel is ×××. The central head for machinery is Zhao Erlu.

Central plans are formulated with the participation of provinces and municipalities; provincial plans are formulated with the participation of prefectures and counties. It may not be clear in just one discussion, so multiple sessions are needed.

Regarding the issue of people's communes, what should they be called? They can be called people's communes, or they can be called something else. In my opinion, call them people's communes. This remains socialist in nature, without overemphasizing communism. The people's commune is characterized first by "big" and second by "public." Many people, large land area, large scale of production, and many large undertakings; government and commune administration are integrated, with public canteens set up, private plots abolished, though chickens, ducks, and small trees around houses remain personal property—these will also disappear in the future. With more grain, a supply system can be introduced, but still with distribution according to work; wages will be distributed to individuals based on their ability to contribute, not handed to household heads—this pleases the youth and women. It greatly benefits individual liberation. Regarding the establishment of people's communes, I think the countryside is again ahead; cities have not yet started, and the ranks and benefits of workers are more complex. Whether urban or rural, the system should be socialist, infused with communist ideology. The Soviet Union one-sidedly emphasizes material incentives and heavy rewards and punishments. We are now building socialism, but there are already sprouts of communism. Schools, factories, and neighborhoods can all establish people's communes. In just a few years, everyone can be organized into large communes.

In Tianjin, one million people are capable of participating in labor but are not doing so. Only during the Second Five-Year Plan period can mechanization be basically realized and labor power thoroughly liberated.

Concentrate major authority while dispersing minor authority: the central government decides (jointly decided by the central and local governments), all parties implement, but implementation also involves decision-making, adhering to principles, with work inspection, and Party committees bearing responsibility. These points must be emphasized. Major authority is the trunk; minor authority is the branches. One is decision-making, the other is inspection. The special steel group must inspect every ten days without fail. When you return, focus on nothing else but industry for several months. Without sacrifice, there is no specialization; without specialization, there are no priorities. The grain problem is basically solved; do not overemphasize high-yield "satellites." Imperialism oppresses us; we must build our country into a major industrial power within three, five, or seven years. For this purpose, we must vigorously develop large-scale industry, grasp the essentials, and for secondary matters where strength is insufficient, prune some away, just like pruning cotton plants. Will this harm the enthusiasm of lower levels? Cooperatives that don't produce steel can do other things. Who produces steel and who doesn't must obey the decision. Issue urgent orders to hand over the iron; scattering resources is not allowed. The plans for large and medium-sized steel plants must be fulfilled, with efforts to exceed them. In a given period, only a few things can be tackled; when singing "Free and Unfettered," you cannot simultaneously sing another opera. Thoroughly explain the truth that "one must refrain from certain activities before achieving success in others."

Steel, iron, aluminum, and other non-ferrous metals—we must strive desperately this year and next. Desperation is necessary. Steel output must be guaranteed; iron can be slightly less, but we must still strive to meet the target.

When sending people to Vietnam, I have said: you must cherish every blade of grass and every tree in Vietnam. It does not belong to Ho Chi Minh; it belongs to the Earth, to the laboring people. If you sacrifice there, then you will be buried there. In the future, we should establish an Earth Management Committee and implement a unified plan for the Earth. Where there is a grain shortage, we will send grain. But this is possible only when antagonistic classes have been eliminated. Currently, the two classes each have their own plans. In the future, we will achieve "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs," without distinction, helping places in difficulty without charging a penny. We fought wars for so many years, so many died, and no one can compensate for the losses. Now, construction is also a fierce battle; we will struggle desperately for several years, and continue struggling thereafter—but this will cost fewer lives than war. We cannot count time by the hour; how would that reflect noble morality? Hebei Province plans that 15-year-olds will graduate from university after 15 years through a work-study program. This will raise the people's consciousness. Relying on material rewards, with excessive heavy rewards and punishments, won't work. In the future, we should not issue any medals. Officers should be sent down to serve as soldiers; those who haven't served as soldiers should do so, and those who have can do it again—it will be very beneficial. Division commanders and army commanders sent down to be commanded by squad leaders for three months before returning as division or army commanders. In Yunnan, a division commander served as a soldier for several months and gained understanding of soldiers' lives and psychology—this is very good. Cadres participating in labor: some say do it for two months; one month is always doable. Being with the laborers is advantageous; our feelings will change and influence millions of cadres’ children. Cao Cao's rebuke of Emperor Xian of Han—"born in the deep palace, raised by women"—has some truth. As long as everyone struggles desperately, in another three or five years, we will succeed.

Collaborative regions must engage in politics; some politics is needed. In the past, some said collaborative regions would only handle economics, not politics. I think we must still put politics in command. Only when thinking is aligned can economics be handled well. Under the command of politics, grasping planning, carrying out unified commune plans, focusing on priority construction, and pruning some details—that itself is politics.