This. Let a 1000 flowers bloom. There is an essay about it. To lazy to google it. Maybe some fellow has it bookmarked.
It has inspired other posts, for example (2)
As a hobby Lisper I learned about Peter Seibel as the author of Practical Common Lisp.
(1) https://gigamonkeys.com/flowers/ (2) https://medium.com/@danonrockstar/let-a-thousand-flowers-blo...
That slogan was used in the summer of 1957 when the Chinese intelligentsia were invited to criticise the political system then obtaining in Communist China.
The full quotation, taken from a speech of Mao's in Peking in February 1957, is:
"Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend is the policy for promoting progress in the arts and the sciences and a flourishing socialist culture in our land."
- It was a trap
- Mao didn't expect serious criticism, was surprised, and lashed out