Revisiting BP’s socialism

Ambika P. Adhikari

Most Nepali Congress leaders use BP’s ideas when they speak, but they do not always practice or implement it when they are in power

B P Koirala is remembered as a charming and inspiring leader by most Nepalis. Rarely have we seen another Nepali leader who has reached BP’s political height, who has been able to articulate ambitious political programs and inspire the masses, and who has the ideological clarity, personal integrity and vision to reshape the economy of the nation. In other words, no political leader in Nepal has been able to fully match the all-round personality and popularity of BP. 

An accomplished literary figure, BP was equally adept as a writer as he was as a political leader, and his two talents were mutually reinforcing. Literature gave him penetrating insights into human psychology, personal insecurities, ambition and aspirations. Politics provided him with a mechanism to work toward the fulfillment of the societal and personal needs that creative writers often imagine.

He had the courage, personality, oratory and writing prowess and ideological and personal integrity to provide a strong leadership for people. He was among the first formidable democratic leaders to challenge the autocratic rule of the Ranas and then the authoritarian rule of the monarchs. The democracy that Nepali people have eventually gained was built on the ideas that he pioneered and on the foundation he and his team had built over a long struggle. In fact, BP also played an important role in supporting the freedom struggle of India. He also participated in shaping the Indian socialist movement and forged strong personal relationship with many of India’s post-independence leaders. This relationship later helped BP in his political pursuits to bring democracy in Nepal.

Vision of socialism

BP often stated that the capitalism was unsustainable and communism was unworkable. He advocated the vision for democratic socialism as the best political and economic system for any state. He often gave the example of how a poor farmer in a village in Nepal lived, and urged the leaders and planners to think of the poor farmers while making plans or doing politics. BP himself lived an ordinary middle-class life but had a decent house to live in, and managed to eat two good meals a day. BP often said that his aim was to enable all the Nepalis to enjoy at least his standard of living. But even after more than 50 years since he uttered those words, a large number of Nepalis have been unable to enjoy a decent living standard. Some 12 percent of Nepal’s population has migrated to foreign countries seeking a modest livelihood to feed their families. The migrants often end up working in harsh conditions. Thus Nepal is still a long way from realizing the most humble level of economic development for its people as advocated by BP.

In the 1950s, when he first adopted the democratic socialism as an ideology, he seemed keener on the welfare aspect of the democratic socialism so that the system would uplift the most downtrodden, while keeping the democratic political system intact. BP often stated that without the uplifting the villagers, there would be no development in Nepal. 

Toward the end of the 1970s, he was more influenced by the notion of appropriate technologies, decentralized governance systems, and self-sufficiency as propounded by Mahatma Gandhi, as the best means of national development and ensuring people’s welfare.  He was also a pragmatist, and was keenly observing the progress made by the Western countries through market mechanisms.

In many parts of the world, socialism is not always looked at in a positive light these days. It is often believed that a market economy may not be totally consistent with the idea of socialism, where the state plays a central role in redistributing wealth to ensure that the most vulnerable and poor have at least the decent living means. Through progressive taxation and other governmental programs in the areas of health, education and shelter, a socialist government seeks to provide for the benefit of the people who cannot do well for themselves in the free market. BP thought the resources in a country belonged to all of its citizens. Thus, for him, even in a market economy, the state would ensure that people who do well financially utilizing the resources and labor, must also support in the state’s efforts to help the working-class people and other marginalized groups.

In the current mainstream US political psyche, the idea about socialism does not resonate well. Most people seem to believe that any hint of socialism in a political system will kill the personal incentives. It is believed that the profit-seeking motives are the fundamental premise for the creation of wealth and economic dynamism in America.

However, even in the US, the ultimate bastion of capitalism, the need to cater to the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable population is now increasingly being recognized as an important element of state policies. A 2018 study by United Way ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) project found that 43 percent of the American households cannot afford the basic necessities such as housing, food transportation, medical care and communication. So some have started to question whether a pure capitalist model of economy can help all the citizens. 

The USSR and its socialist satellites practiced socialism where the means of productions were completely controlled by the state. That system failed as it killed individual incentives and promoted corruption. The modern-day China has shown that a one party-communist rule and a market-economy driven by collaboration between the state and private sector can bring accelerated progress. But the Chinese model has its own social costs and is not applicable in all societies.

Socialism in Nepal  

The Nepali Congress, founded by BP and his colleagues, still officially adopts democratic socialism as one of its core values. But the first NC government after the 1990 people’s movement, pushed for liberalization and market reforms including privatization of state controlled enterprises. It was not much different from the regular capitalist market economic model. 

Leaders such as Krishna Prasad Bhattarai believed in social democracy although Bhattarai himself did not really practice it while he was in power. This was mainly because Bhattarai was a PM only for short period on each of the two occasions. During his first premiership, his mandate was less on governance and more on election and constitution writing, which he accomplished successfully. Among the current NC leaders, most seem to believe in democratic socialism as the main motto of the NC and leaders like Ram Chandra Paudel and Pradeep Giri are its vocal advocates.

When Man Mohan Adhikari of CPN-UML was the Prime Minister, his government instituted the old age pension program and “build your village yourself” program, representing the concept of welfare and decentralization mechanism, which are cornerstones of the democratic socialism principles. In 2018, the government of Sher Bahadur Deuba decided to increase the amount of the old age pension.

Various Nepali governments have also explored or partially implemented the policies related to universal medical insurance, farming subsidies and state support for education. 

Most Nepali Congress leaders use BP’s ideas when they speak, but they do not always practice or implement it when they are in power. The idea of democratic socialism would have been more refined now if BP was still alive. The world has seen the spectacular collapse of communism in the former USSR and seen the rise of state capitalism even in China. Russia has become a fully market driven economy, and the Europeans’ practice of democratic socialism has also gone through an evolutionary development. Most nations now practice a mixed economy, consisting of capitalism and socialism. 

For a developing country like Nepal, the idea of democratic socialism is still appealing. Perhaps, universal medical system and state-funded school level education can be the cornerstones of democratic socialism in the present-day Nepal. 

It will take much thinking and deliberations to make a plan on how the elements of democratic-socialism are woven into the policies of the government. It will be a tribute to BP to research on this topic and come up with appropriate recommendations.

A market economy propelled by profit incentives is important to help the economy grow, while ensuring that the businesses pay taxes, are well regulated and that the state uses the revenues to support welfare programs that truly help the poor. We can extract this element from BP’s idea of democratic socialism and insert in the modern day governance in Nepal.

The author is an urban planner and educator living in Phoenix, Arizona