People's commune (English spelling)

An administrative and economic organization for rural China established in 1958. Having succeeded in collectivizing agriculture, China began to merge existing agricultural production cooperatives around 1958 to create large communes with populations of tens of thousands, including industrial, agricultural, commercial, school, and militia organizations, and also incorporating the administrative functions previously held by township governments. Encouraged by Mao Zedong's words, "People's communes are wonderful," a people's commune movement was launched within just a month or two, with 99% of the country's farmers participating. "One big, two public" (large-scale and public) was considered the ideal, and "public dining halls" that provided free meals were established, and in some areas ownership, management, and distribution were carried out on a commune scale.

However, as a result of the natural disasters of 1959-1961 (which were also man-made disasters caused by the commune system) and the resulting impoverishment of agriculture and farmers, the people's commune system was forced to be reorganized. After 1961, a "three-class ownership system" was created in which the basic unit was the production team, consisting of 20-30 households at the lowest level, which collectively owned land and had the decision-making power for production and distribution, the production battalion above it had relatively large capital, and the commune owned and managed large-scale capital such as irrigation facilities and large tractors. Furthermore, under this people's commune system, farmers were guaranteed basic medical care, education, and livelihoods.

Farmers participated in collective farming in production teams, recording the quality of their labor and the labor points assigned to each type of work, and distributing the income for the year according to the number of days each person worked (usually 10 points per day). However, because harvests fluctuated greatly and the government set agricultural produce and raw material prices, the unit price per day was low and fluctuated greatly. This was compensated for by income from privately reserved land, which was up to 5% of the cultivated land and was left to each farmer to manage and dispose of the produce.

Looking at the public corporation system as an organization, its executives were appointed by the county, the higher administrative unit, and like other organizations in China, the party committee of the public corporation held real power in running the corporation. However, the executives of the production teams and production battalions at the local level were relatively democratically elected by the members.

After the downfall of the Gang of Four in 1976, the inefficiency of the people's commune system and state interference were criticized, and in order to stimulate the production motivation of individual farmers, various contract farming systems, especially contract farming systems for individual farmers, were promoted along with the expansion of private land reservation, and the de-collectivization of agriculture was promoted. Furthermore, in the 1982 Constitution, the township government system that existed before 1958 was reinstated, the communes lost their administrative functions, and the people's commune signs were taken down, so that the people's communes can be said to have been dissolved in both name and reality. The 56,000 people's communes nationwide were transformed into the lowest level administrative organizations, township governments (34,100) and township governments (14,100). These administrative governments and enterprises owned and operated by farmers (township and township enterprises) have been the driving force behind China's market economy since the reform and opening-up that began in the late 1970s. The number of enterprises exceeds 20 million, and the number of employees at the end of 2007 was 150.9 million.

[Nakakane Kazutsugu]

Fukushima Masao, Study of People's Communes (1960, Ochanomizu Shobo) ▽ Shimakura Tamio and Nakakane Kazutsugu (eds.), Study of the People's Commune System (1980, Institute of Developing Economies) ▽ Kondo Yasuo and Sakamoto Kusuhiko (eds.), Family Businesses Resurrected Under Socialism (1983, Rural Culture Association) ▽ China-Japan Economic Association (ed.), Chinese Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperation under the Dissolution of People's Communes (1984) ▽ Yang Xun and Liu Jialui, Supervised translation by Sugino Akio, The Path of Rural Reform in China - The Dissolution of People's Communes and the Contract System (1989, Osaka University of Economics and Law Press) ▽ Ding Shuo, translated by Mori Mikio, Human Disaster 1958-1962 - The Madness of 20 Million Starving to Death (1991, Gakuyo Shobo) ▽ "China's Economic Reform and New Development Mechanisms" edited by Watanabe Toshio (1991, Toyo Keizai Shinposha)" ▽ "Modern China's Township and Village Enterprises" edited by Ueno Kazuhiko (1993, Damingtang)" ▽ "The Human Basis of the Disintegration of Chinese Socialism - The Collapse of People's Communes and the Formation of the Profit-Making Class" by Nakamura Norihiro (1994, Kokusai Shoin)" ▽ "The Rebirth of Chinese Socialism" by Sugino Akio (1995, Osaka University of Economics and Law Press)" ▽ "The Peasant Revolution and Communism in the 20th Century - The Birth and Collapse of Agricultural Collectivization Policy in China" by Kobayashi Koji (1997, Keiso Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1958年に創設された中国農村の行政・経済機構。農業集団化に成功した中国は、1958年なかばごろから従来の農業生産協同組合を合併させ、工業、農業、商業、学校、民兵の各組織を含み、またいままでの郷(ごう)政府のもっていた行政機能をもあわせもつ人口数万にも達する一大コミューンをつくり始めた。毛沢東(もうたくとう／マオツォートン)の「人民公社はすばらしい」ということばにも励まされ、わずか1、2か月のうちに全国99％の農家が参加する人民公社化運動が展開された。「一大二公」（規模が大きくて公共的）が理想とされ、食事の無料供給を行う「公共食堂」が設けられたり、さらに一部の地域では公社規模での所有、管理、分配が行われた。

　しかし1959～1961年の自然災害（それには公社化が引き起こした人災という面もあった）と、それによる農業、農民の疲弊の結果、人民公社制度は再編を余儀なくされた。1961年以降、最末端単位である20～30戸からなる生産隊を基本単位とし、そこが土地を集団所有するとともに、生産・分配の意思決定権をもち、その上の生産大隊が比較的大型の資本を有し、さらに公社が灌漑(かんがい)設備や大型トラクターといった大規模な資本を所有・管理するといった「三級所有制」ができあがった。また、この人民公社体制のもとで、農民は基本的医療、教育、あるいは生活を保障される体制にはなってきた。

　農民は生産隊の集団耕作に参加し、各自労働力の質と作業種ごとに決められた労働点数を記録し、その年の収益を各人の労働日（1労働日は通常10点）に応じて分配する。ただし、収穫の変動が激しく、しかも政府により農産物価格や原材料価格を決められているために、1労働日当りの単価は低く、しかも変動が大きい。それを補うのが、耕地の5％を限度として各農家に経営と生産物の処分がゆだねられた自留地による所得であった。

　機構としての公社制度をみると、公社の幹部は上級の行政単位である県から任命され、また中国の他の機構と同様に、公社の運営は実質上公社の党委員会が実権を握っていた。しかし末端の生産隊や生産大隊の幹部は、比較的民主的に成員が選出していた。

　1976年の「四人組」失脚以後、それまでの人民公社制度の非効率性や国家による干渉が批判され、個々の農家の生産意欲を刺激するために、自留地の拡大とともにさまざまな請負耕作制、とりわけ農家ごとの請負制の普及が図られ、農業の脱集団化が進められた。さらに1982年の憲法において、1958年以前の郷政府制が復活して、公社から行政機能がなくなり、それとともに人民公社の看板が下ろされ、名実ともに人民公社は解体したといえる。全国に5万6000あった人民公社は、末端の行政組織である、郷政府（3万4100）、鎮(ちん)政府（1万4100）に変身した。これら行政政府や農民が所有、経営する企業（郷鎮企業）は、1970年代末からの改革・開放後、中国の市場経済化の推進役となっている。企業数は2000万社を超え、2007年末の従業員数は1億5090万人である。

［中兼和津次］

『福島正夫著『人民公社の研究』（1960・御茶の水書房）』▽『嶋倉民生・中兼和津次編『人民公社制度の研究』（1980・アジア経済研究所）』▽『近藤康男・阪本楠彦編『社会主義下甦る家族経営』（1983・農山漁村文化協会）』▽『日中経済協会編・刊『人民公社解体下の中国農業と農業協力』（1984）』▽『楊勲・劉家瑞著、杉野明夫監訳『中国農村改革の道――人民公社解体と請負制』（1989・大阪経済法科大学出版部）』▽『丁抒著、森幹夫訳『人禍　1958～1962――餓死者2000万人の狂気』（1991・学陽書房）』▽『渡辺利夫編『中国の経済改革と新発展メカニズム』（1991・東洋経済新報社）』▽『上野和彦編著『現代中国の郷鎮企業』（1993・大明堂）』▽『中村則弘著『中国社会主義解体の人間的基礎――人民公社の崩壊と営利階級の形成』（1994・国際書院）』▽『杉野明夫著『中国社会主義の再生』（1995・大阪経済法科大学出版部）』▽『小林弘二著『20世紀の農民革命と共産主義――中国における農業集団化政策の生成と瓦解』（1997・勁草書房）』

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