[Notwithstanding the above points of view, let
us remind ourselves that we, as a Nation, have freely chosen to join the WTO in
2004 and are, thus, bound by our international treaty obligations. WTO requires
of us to not just provide MFN treatment to foreign businesses but, so too,
'national treatment’. WTO also protects
our vulnerable status of being a 'yam between two boulders’ by disallowing
infringement of our transit rights. Indeed, after we signed the WTO treaty
we began to think afresh towards engaging proactively with all our neighbours
through such conceptual innovations as SAGQ/SASEC/BBIN, BIMSTEC and, lately,
China, India and Nepal Trilateral Cooperation.]
By Madhukar SJB Rana
Professor SAIM and Former Finance Minister
Political and social revolutions can be
ushered in through violence or non violence. However, neither gains will be
peaceful, and self sustaining, unless garnered and nourished by factors and
forces of economics.
First and foremost, the long winded Preamble
envisioning a "socialist state” must be expunged. For the simple reason
that the Constitution must be neutral to any political ideology — capitalism,
socialism, communism, pragmatism.
After all, it is the right of the political
party in power, with or without a coalition government, to rule the country as
per its election manifesto. And who knows what new political ideologies can
appear in the 21st century as the world is :
a) battered by climate change and global
warming that threatens the very existence of planet Earth;
b) threatened by unprecedented inequality of
income and wealth where the so called ’sovereign individuals’ own more assets
and income than sovereign nation states calling for a new national and
international economic structures and financial architecture for democratic
governance;
c) undeniably facing a clash of civilisations
and cultures where individuals, nations and regions seek their own
identities.
Furthermore, as a vision statement it is
faulty. What is the sought after final destination envisaged by the phrase
“socialist state”? This is unknown. Hence the phrase only specifies a journey
which may be perfectly acceptable as mission statements of all manner socialist
parties but quite inappropriate in the Constitution’s preamble.
Notwithstanding the above points of view, let
us remind ourselves that we, as a Nation, have freely chosen to join the WTO in
2004 and are, thus, bound by our international treaty obligations. WTO requires
of us to not just provide MFN treatment to foreign businesses but, so too,
'national treatment’. WTO also protects
our vulnerable status of being a 'yam between two boulders’ by disallowing
infringement of our transit rights. Indeed, after we signed the WTO treaty
we began to think afresh towards engaging proactively with all our neighbours
through such conceptual innovations as SAGQ/SASEC/BBIN, BIMSTEC and, lately,
China, India and Nepal Trilateral Cooperation.
The reason why we joined the WTO is to be
part and parcel of the globalisation process by opening our economy and society
to the outside world inviting global technology, human and intellectual and
financial capital; as well as having Nepalese workers to join the international
labour market. And Nepalese businesses to trade and invest abroad and,
hopefully, invent our very own MNCs in the process.
All these international economic goals calls
for robust multilateral, regional and sub-regional economic diplomacy and
passionate patriotism—not narrow minded
nationalism as imbibed so glaringly in the draft Constitution. It smacks of a
geo-psychological inferiority complex in our political leadership forgetting
that we are the 45th largest country amidst the 200 nations around the globe.
Inward looking nationalism is out of tune
with the emerging new world order of the 21st century since it is going to be
an international order built on a balance of power between regional blocs. This
hypothesis will be soon tested as post Referendum Greece will not be exited by
Germany and France from either the Euro or EU. Greece’s civilisational
contribution and geography are far too vital for the people of Europe as a
whole, as well as US’ interest and NATO.
It is humbly submitted that a new Nepal be built
on the Market as the 5th Pillar of the
new State. This needs to be duly recognised and enshrined in the Constitution. The
market, as an institution, not only allows for poverty eradication, as
historically proven, but guarantees economic freedom to all. Also, it gives due
legal space, when appropriately regulated by the State to safeguard against all
manner of anti competition behaviour, including protecting consumer
sovereignty, rights and individual welfare though creation of Consumer Courts.
Socialists and Communists dislike Adam Smith,
the Father of Modern Economics, conveniently forgetting that it was his
intellectual contribution that ended feudalism in Europe by ushering in the
Industrial Revolution in UK that later spread all over Europe and North
America. They dislike the fact that it is not through the benevolence of the
State and the political masters that we progress materially as a Nation; but
actually do so by pursing our own self-interest in a spirit of free competition
with freedom of entry and exit in compliance with the rue of law.
This is not to say that Adam Smith believed
business people to be like angels. Very frequently he warns us of their
tendency to avoid competition though collusion to extract maximum rent by
controlling production, distribution and compromising on quality and standards.
He also recognised that a business-dominated political system would be at the
cost of public welfare since they would influence public policies and laws.
This is the rationale behind why we need a
Competition Commission as a constitutionally chartered autonomous institution.
And a Competition Act duly promulgated by the Parliament on which basis the
Competition Commission is empowered to make judgement to protect the Market as
a Fundamental Institution of Nepal.
Adam Smith does not argue for laissez faire.
His free market is one where there is free competition in product, labour,
land, capital or any other market. With the government limiting itself to
enforcement of laws to protect competition and to strongly ensure rectification
of all manner of inequality in bargaining power between labour, capital, land
and other resources owners.
It is on the foundation of classical Smith
that we now universally invoke Private Public Partnerships (3Ps) for optimal
economic management in the wake of huge risks and uncertainties in the 21st
century global world economic order. It is in this context that we argue here
that there should now be room for People Private Public Partnerships (4Ps) in
the management of our national economy. After all natural resources in Nepal
are mostly owned by the local People.
It is often forgotten how intensely moral
Adam Smith was. He was a pre eminent moral philosopher. Faced with the ill
repute that 21st century financial capitalism has generated for itself, it may
be time now for the State to promote the new concept of 'compassionate
capitalism’ where Moral Markets are promoted through sound and firm legal and
judicial systems, as well as well as good corporate and entrepreneurial ethical
behaviour.
