Most participants believed that to grow economically China needed to return to the sober planning of the 1950s before the Great Leap Forward and of the early 1960s during the recovery from the Leap. Participants believed that China should rely on a planning system because of its huge population, shortage of land, and its limited resources. Whereas less crowded countries with smaller populations could enjoy the benefits of lavish consumption despite the waste that comes from open markets, party leaders believed China had to establish priorities and control profits and wasteful consumption.
