For over a decade, Nepal has existed without a monarchy. After decades of instability and internal conflicts, the power was seemingly given to the people. When people got the right to vote, everyone thought their ideal country would be born. However, the truth was something else. With millions of unaware, illiterate & easily swayed people living in Nepal, the parties stole power from the people & abused them to the point that Nepal became one of the most corrupted countries. How did it get worse after it was declared a Federal Democratic Republic nation?
Plato, a great philosopher from Ancient Greece stated a huge flaw in democracy over 2,000 years ago. He believed that democracy is inherently flawed because people who get elected are the ones that are the best at getting people to like them, which is a very different set of skills than those needed to successfully run a country. It basically meant that if evil people could pretend to be good leaders, the general public would choose them. This has happened in every democratic country at least one point in its history.
The biggest problem with why democracy is a flaw in Nepal comes from its core concept that every citizen can vote. But do all people have the ability to choose the right person? They don’t. Why? Because not all of them are educated and well-versed in the fields of economics, politics, and social studies and that’s fine, however, we cannot trust them to be able to decide what’s best for the country. People who are educated are the only ones voting effectively, but such people are rare. Nepal, with its low education standards and completely unaware people, cannot possibly rely on the general public to decide the right political course of action for the foreseeable future.
Most Nepalese people don’t vote for what’s best for the country, they vote after their own self-centered interests which they are preoccupied with at the time of voting. These interests change over time and even those people who voted for a person will stand against them sooner or later. They also vote the person they like the most, not necessarily because of the policies they have proposed but because of their personality, the way they speak, the way they present themselves & their blood relations. Unfortunately for them, these are things that can be lied about. They also believe in false promises given by people playing the game of politics.
A problem with Nepal’s democracy is that right people don’t even want to be involved in politics. Politics is merely an evil game in the eyes of most people. When they see the history of violence and unrest, they assume this is what politics does. However, politics is neutral, and it can be taken in either the direction of peace or violence. Good people do not want to be politicians due to threats from those already in power. In Nepal, old politicians hate when the youths come into power unless they’re their relatives. That’s because they fear that people will become aware and choose to get rid of old rulers
and their ideas.
In the end, the reason why Democracy failed in Nepal comes down to the fact that people can be controlled and bribed to change votes. Since they’re in poverty, they’ll do anything for a little financial incentive. These people don’t realize that they will always be kept poor so that they can be swayed once again in the future. With uneducated people choosing the future of the country, obviously, wrong choices were made.
Having said that, Democracy could still be arguably the best form of governance since it’s so inclusive. But perhaps it’s flawed exactly because of its inclusivity. Maybe it’s only effective when those that are politically aware are the only ones allowed to vote.
Article Credit: Bidhan Gautam
Gautam is an undergraduate student of Bachelor in Business Management studying at Shanker Dev Campus, affiliated to Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.
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Any views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. Any legal information on this topic is intended to give a positive message to the people, and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice. Any contributions from, or references to, external sources (including website links), people’s views, or individuals do not necessarily reflect the views of Lattice Nepal nor receive our endorsement.
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