Triumph or tragedy: unintended consequences of political planning and social engineering in Maoist China

Using the Maoist anti-schistosomiases campaign as case study, this chapter explores the complex and dynamic relationships between politics and health. It argues that utopian solutions linking health to absolute political goals are bound to frustrate and disappoint those most directly affected. The centralized approach to people’s health, as seen with the anti-schistosomiases campaign, was neither politically effective nor it was feasible. Furthermore, it had long-term negative consequences on the environment and, by extension, on human health.