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A vivid example often cited to showcase authoritarian efficiency is Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward in China during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Mao aimed to rapidly transform China from an agrarian economy into an industrial powerhouse through ambitious policies, including the infamous backyard furnaces attempt. This plan aimed to increase steel production but ultimately resulted in economic chaos and widespread famine, claiming the lives of tens of millions of people due to starvation and poor planning.