Social Justice Key To Democratic Politics

The positive social condition for democracy in Nepal is the existence of a culture of tolerance to pluralism. A plural society is a more resilient and expressive one. It does not legitimise eternal lust of leadership for power rooted in human nature and animus dominandi, an ability to dominate others against their will. Democracy spurs three tendencies that control the undue lust of leadership for power beyond norms: socialisation of human nature by the transmission of culture and education, eradication of the state of nature and creation of overlapping values and interests among people for cooperation. Its public philosophy provides common ground for cooperative action. The stable condition of democracy is based on the rule of law founded on freedom to choose course of action, social justice and popular sovereignty to realise their self-potential and priorities, not fettered by external determinism. 

Democratic virtues of people’s rights to articulate and organise prompt a range of associations enabling them to fulfill diverse needs of Nepali society, keep a tab on unbridled individualism and restrain the arbitrary use of power by majority. Politics brings private persons into the public sphere, educates them about their rights, duties, public-interest issues, laws and policies and allows them to engage in improving the human condition. Nepalis are capable of and free to decide issues affecting them. Modern politics is defined by its scale and public purpose it serves. In democracy, conflict is settled by law, mediation and public reason, not the use of illicit violence--manifest or structural and subordinates people to compartmentalized disciplines of society.  

The sovereignty embedded in Nepalis presumes their right to national self-determination, not the growing denationalisation of labour, capital, students and talents and opening the nation to the breakless globalisation. This right can fortify the condition of democratic politics where people have full control over their political destiny. Nepal is, however, facing a problematic order of democratic politics because of the descent of material, moral and institutional conditions of life. Only the growing employment opportunity at home and hope for sustainable progress embedded in the social contract can set cheerful conditions.  The policy of deregulation which Nepali political classes of all political spectrum had pursued with the labour market flexibility, no work no pay, individualisation of labour and projectisation of civil society has created a hiatus with the constitutional vision of socialist-oriented economy, an economy which demands the socialisation of capital, not only labour. Timely elections circulates diverse social classes of society into political power, mandates periodically changing leaders, shapes good policies for public goods and builds ownership on it. 

Electoral victory

Electoral victory of leaders provides authority and legitimacy to form government but if they do not perform well as per promise and mandate, a crisis of rationality breeds anomie and protests. Nepalis socialised by one-sided ambivalent media have spurred their cognitive ability to question the performance of their leaders, parties and multi-scale authority but not their own irrational voting choice. Democratic politics allows leaders to craft vision, choices and positive action for the Nepalis on the basis of their awareness and necessity. Their interest to craft them springs from the tradition of education and self-wakening of demos so that they can determine their policies, laws and institutions suitable to attain a good life. Nepal’s spiritual values in the past had served as a guarantee of ethical integration of people in public life. It is now shaken by the rationalism of modernity and borrowed knowledge without proper indigenisation or functionality of the system. Even its constitution drafted on those values faces a tension between liberal meaning of human rights and the universal meaning of emancipation.

One finds Nepali state lacking resources to realise basic human needs while the emancipatory discourse continues unabated in the spiritual and moral domain. Still Nepalis use various choices in their lives affirming popular sovereignty, set critique on instrumental politics and demand the primacy of new welfare state politics rooted in quality of life, political equality, representation and equity over personal assertion of leadership. The first is the constitutional choice. It is based on its inclusive doctrines, procedures and ends-means rationality. Constitutional democracy requires informed and active participation of Nepalis in the political process through a myriad of associations, federations, institutions, unions and solidarity of various interests and identities. This supposes the people have a firm commitment to its basic principles and values, as well as the notion of civic competence. In Nepal, majoritarian tendency is tempered by social inclusion, proportional representation and measures of social justice. Right to information is inserted in the constitution to make political decision making transparent, accountable and people oriented.

Protecting constitutional rights about education, health, work, infrastructures, social security, etc. responsibilities and reconciliations among the people is essential to foster constitutional choices now harshly constrained by poverty, illiteracy and lack of critical information. Egalitarian distribution of opportunities and resources is deemed essential for durable social peace in Nepal.  It prevents Nepali state from submerging in fractious parties and transnational interest groups. The petulant nature of parties, politics of negation and interest groups thriving on public costs have clocked many feedback loops crucial for democratic dynamics.  National leaders must bear the burden of duty for their promises, policies and actions. The constitution needs to serve the material interests of the ordinary Nepalis so that they become stakeholders of democracy, actively participate in its activities and claim ownership, not opt for compulsive outbound migration.

Nepali polity, however, has failed to keep pace with the globalisation of capital, labour and technology and control the undue use of non-renewable resources. As a result, people lose control over them and their destiny. National self-sufficiency on essential goods offers a template for the creation of necessary conditions for rational democratic action. It is essential to overcome vulnerability and scarcity created either by natural calamities or human-induced misfortunes infecting the wretched and igniting their anti-modernist indignation. Democracy-oriented politics requires the fusion of people’s understanding of their self-will and rational response of constitutional organs to peoples’ security, freedom, wellbeing and progress.

 The second is the cooperative choice of people.  Intermediary economic associations created by Nepalis for production, exchange and distribution are the best means to enhance their participation in their self-governing social, economic and political institutions. Social cooperatives, Dhikutis, informal banking, Guthis and several federations constituted by people for their needs fulfillment are defined by the collection of individuals who maximise their personal interests through the promotion of collective interests, build leadership and deal with the policies of the state, market and civil society. The spirit of Nepalis is deeply rooted in their feeling, sentiment, emotion and vital life forces propelled by selfish genes and their organic, indigenous impulse for self-governance. But now they are facing an appalling situation owing to the swindling of funds by their dishonest leadership in cooperatives, informal financial markets and microcredit institutions. 

Shareholders’ protests in Nepal against them are swelling every day.  Bottom up economic institutions can facilitate entrepreneurship of people and help them strengthen their capillary tributaries so that they can exercise their power of citizenship.  Cooperative choice for people seeks to bridge the gap between social justice and market efficiency and   balances majority rule with the security and identity of minorities.  The establishment of several inclusive commissions is designed to make people stakeholders of democratic politics and overcome their alienation, apathy and disaffection arising out of their economic and political marginalisation. The third is the rational choice of people. It presumes that people use their self-interest as an incentive to make better choices that maximise their benefits. People weigh their optimal options and set preferences they think serve them in the finest way. Excessive use of rational choice by powerful individuals and businesspersons regardless of its implication for public goods entropies the necessary condition of democratic politics based on popular will, reconciliation of personal and general interests and the interests of present and future generation.

 The operation of neoliberal economy at community, the state and global order is incongruent both to the constitutional vision of promoting socialism-oriented economy and creation of an egalitarian society affirming the rights to work, social justice and social security characteristic of democracy. But when the majority of Nepalis are not fully conscious of their preference they are suffocated by problematic situations and choked by lack of information deficits or its manipulation by socially untamed media. They feel at risk in adopting new methods and technology and adapt to atavistic styles which are familiar to them and easy to execute.   In Nepal, neoliberal privatisation of public goods has impoverished the social and economic milieu. Money as a medium of all exchanges and basis of relationships in Nepal has reduced the standards of social justice and burdened the constitution, ecosystem and peace beyond their capacity to sustain.  

Public sphere 

Nepal has formulated market-correcting competitive laws so that no monopoly exists for production, distribution and exchange of public goods and services. Yet the political culture of the market, political and media syndicate defies the spirit of constitution which seeks to foster transparency, accountability and equity — all necessary conditions for democratic politics and created a gap between political decisions and their execution. Nepali state can hold the capacity to assert public interests against internal and external special interest groups if economic laws, institutions and incentives act as an escalator of opportunity, ideas, innovation and production and consumption of advanced goods. The sanctity of the political condition remains strong if it does not conflict with laws. People make choices in a context, not in a vacuum.  Politics as a public sphere for public opinion, public policies and creative action has to create an equal playing field for all Nepalis and equal distribution of freedom and life choices to all to improve the chains of democratic legitimacy. 

But when Nepali state is embedded in dependence both internally and outside it can do neither. The darker side of politics in Nepal is that social blindness crept in its economic policies so far. People who expected that democracy can serve as an index for rapidly expanding opportunities for people to uplift their living standards and better social and economic condition proved deceptive as opportunities are confined to party elites and upper echelons of society, not the masses surviving in wage labour.  As a result, Nepal’s each election drove the hope of people to shifting constellations and preference even de-alignment from their party affinity.  Nepali political leadership requires moral strength and personal and political integrity of their office for the longevity of their parties in power as a source of stability. The strength of their political condition springs from bonding and bridging social capital, trust, relationship and networks to realise Nepalis subjective and objective rights and wellbeing. 

(Former Reader at the Department of Political Science, TU, Dahal writes on political and social issues.)