China just followed the Soviet Union model and inevitably encountered the same problems that socialist countries all suffered in the 1950s and 1960s. That is the lack of incentives of people and the waste of resources which are closely explained in János Kornai's book: The Socialist System The Political Economy Of Communism.
Mao realized the shortage of the planned economy and mobilized the population to conquer the difficulties but it backfired and led to two disasters: The Great Leap(including the following famine) and the cultural revolution.
Did he have the only option? Why there would be no better solutions for him?