Nepal’s political spectrum has become so much tilted towards the left that even the “monarchists” and “democratic” parties/alliances look left leaning and endorse draconian socialist drama in their political manifesto.
By definition, voices of freedom and market economy can never be expected from the Communist parties of Nepal. They love freedom only when they are in exile, oppressed, powerless and jailed. Whenever and wherever they have their hands above others, the surreal brutality of their dogmas reveals themselves even in the pitch darkness of ignorance.
It can be understood that left wants equality of outcomes at all costs; they would easily reduce the size of the pie to zero to attain their goal of perfect equality across all possible dimensions of human differences. Making the worst of the society a little bit better than before is never their agenda. They want to bring the rich and successful down to the bottom of the hill so that everything is equal; the poverty, the destitute and the bondage of state power.
The naive voters love the word socialism because they think that this means society is given priority over individuals which sounds altruistic. Never are they told that socialism is not about the society they think should get priority. Utopia is its end. State ownership of our land, labor, capital and entrepreneurship is the means to achieve its Utopian end. State ownership of these means of production is not possible without stripping the individuals of their freedom of expression, freedom of choice of career, freedom of owning assets and freedom to make any non-violent choice.
Evidence of wrath of socialism on human lives, values and economy is everywhere from former USSR, North Korea, Cuba and to some extent to license Raj India. But evidence does not matter to those who hold their dogma of socialism as if its a religion. Religion, any religion, never bother about evidence and arguments. Its a faith on Utopia. To achieve this end, any means is sacred. Bloody revolutions are acceptable. Individual lives have no meaning; they are just casualties of a sacred war. Individual is unable to make their own choice, state is the flawless and the most efficient machine to fulfill our dreams.
The competition for looking socialist (read looking good) in front of their cadres and voters is so intense that even the Nepali Congress party whose legacy is based on freedom of an individual, free market economy and (neo) liberalization is ashamed of its own doings; the doings that led Nepal to a new era of growth, modernization and freedom (most of the people are so confused about the progress Nepal has made, I need to write a separate piece to address this). The party seems to have forgotten that its very principles based on capitalism (read market) is responsible for ending dark age of Nepal’s history. It has forgotten the meaning of capitalism and its far left opponents have successfully labeled capitalism as a monster that kills people, makes us poorer, creates unequal factory workers and devastates environment. It has forgotten the progress we have been able to make as a human civilization because of capitalism and individual freedom. That the individuals, once free are capable of lifting mountains. That the mere term “socialism” in constitution can scare the investors (and hence the desperately needed employment opportunities) out of the country. That capitalism can and should easily accommodate reasonable welfare state for the unlucky few. That communist economies disregard for nature and arrogance of human superiority over nature is no way comparable to capitalist systems. That true freedom of and from religion and any other dogma is possible only in a capitalist system. That all freedoms rely on the viability of the capitalist system. That maximum possible progress is possible only in a capitalist system. That we do not have any viable alternative (yet) to “capitalism with reasonable welfare system”.
The political right as forgotten that reservations and quotas are worst ways to move ahead towards inclusive progress. Only equal opportunities could be a benign end to strive for. The crimes, atrocities and unjust dealings of the history cannot be compensated through affirmative actions and revenge in the present. Positive discrimination is not an equalizer. Equality of outcome is possible only by destroying diversity and killing aspiring hearts of individuals.
Unfortunately, the opposition voice against the recent legislative efforts to end freedom of speech is appalling. The government of Nepal is devising laws that would allow them to listen its citizens talking on phone without judicial orders. The laws are being written with provision of 5 and even 10 years of jail for people who draw cartoons or share a photo or an idea (however nasty they are) on social media. The opposition (Nepali Congress) has started to believe now that a bit of restriction on freedom of expression might be just fine. It has started to believe that the secular state is inferior to a state which gives one particular religion a special preference or abomination. University professors are being threatened for speaking out or criticizing the government policies and people.
The vacuum of political center right cannot remain vacuum forever. Such a skewed political posturing is a breeding ground for extreme political right which can be as hideous as extreme political left. Symptoms are already in front of us.
I think the idea of communism, if foundational reasoning is applied, can be said to be an ideology borne out of the universal human nature of envy. Although in the process it may have raised important issues such as worker rights and income inequalities, the common ground between both old and neo Marxist ideals is mostly jealously. But this jealousy has put in place beneficial systems such as marginal tax rates or universal basic income or social security measures, although if stretched too far it could end up justifying every argument risen out of the envious nature of humanity.