The Great Leap Forward, initiated by Mao Zedong in 1958, aimed at rapidly industrializing China by transitioning the country from an agrarian economy to a socialist industrial powerhouse. This ambitious campaign focused on collective farming and mass production of steel, but it resulted in widespread famine and economic failure, leading to the eventual abandonment of the plan in the early 1960s.
Following the failure of the Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong introduced the Cultural Revolution in 1966 with the goal of preserving communist ideology and removing capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. The revolution sought to enforce Mao’s vision of Chinese socialism, often through violent means, leading to mass purges, widespread persecution, and societal upheaval. The Cultural Revolution had profound and lasting impacts on China, deeply affecting education, culture, and the country's political landscape.
In contrast to the revolutionary approaches of Mao, the Brundtland Commission, established in 1983, focused on global sustainability. Officially known as the World Commission on Environment and Development, the commission's 1987 report, "Our Common Future," coined the term sustainable development. The report emphasized the need to balance economic growth, environmental protection, and social equity to ensure that future generations could meet their needs without depleting resources or harming the environment.