Mao Zedong called for the cultural revolution because he believed capitalists reforms threatened social equality.
The political and social chaos that resulted from the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was initially a Mao Zedong's attempt to reassert his control over the Communist party, whom he believed was being infiltrated by capitalists and feared it would take a wrong direction, and to change some capitalists reforms (of Education, health care, and culture) that were organized for the good of a few people, and threatened social equality.