Nepal Can Be Rich By Kamala Sarup source http://newsblaze.com/story/20060314232821nnnn.nb/newsblaze/OPINIONS/Opinions.html In a 2001 comparison of 174 countries (click here, or see table below), Nepal ranked 150th in per capita income, a universal indicator of material wealth and living standards, since money enables people to buy at least the basic living needs for themselves and their families: food, drink, shelter, clothing, medicines, and health care. Why is Nepal this poor compared to other countries? To answer these questions, it is necessary to review the direct cause of higher incomes and then review the subsidiary causes of living standards; that is, the geographies, cultures, economies and polities under which the people of the listed countries live. In that way, some generalizations can be drawn that will be useful to country leaders and their contenders. In doing so, we recognize that we make a significant value-judgment: acquiring material wealth is "good", and not doing so is "bad". This statement acknowledges the values of leaders in countries who eschew th is value, who prefer to spend the studies and labors of their people in the pursuit of spiritual wealth, who consider material wealth a necessary evil that must be tolerated only to the extent of sustaining life and no more. Note, too, that we are talking here about relative wealth and poverty, i.e., the wealth of the rich countries versus the poverty of the poor countries. There will always be an increase in absolute wealth, in varying amounts by poor countries, because some wealth will inevitably spill over from the rich countries to the poor ones via trade, industrial globalization (the transfer of businesses from rich to poor countries) and repatriated income from nationals working in foreign lands. However, a continuing state of relative poverty in a nation leads inevitably to revolution, or emigration, or both, or to absorption by other countries. The Nepali poverty is the result of reliance on an agriculture as a source of food by the poor, Maoists violence that prohibited keeping exportable wheat, the "cash crop", in Nepal and prohibiting the import of agriculture surpluses to support the Nepali landowners. Although the problem appears throughout South Asia, the reliance of the Nepali poor exclusively on rice as a staple made them particularly susceptible to poverty. This agricultural product grown by Nepali farmers provides more calories per acre than any other staple. Therefore, it is not surprising that it was and is cultivated throughout the world. Nepal used and exported rice to other countries to obtain foreign currencies for international trade. Government policy was to favor city dwellers over the peasants. Thus, Nepali poverty occurred while bringing millions to Nepal to seek a better life. Productive and prosperous transformation in the development process can become viable only through permanent economic development. The essentiality of today, is to ensure the solidarity of national development, with economic re-strengthening. Is it going to guarantee sustainable peace? Will there be earnest effort in harnessing cooperation from all respective sectors? Active economic reforms are always needed for leading the social movement because a strong economy is the foundation of democratic development and creation of an equitable nation. In any time of conflict, it is the economy that plays the lead role in bringing about a tangible and lasting solution to the economic crisis facing the nation and the people. The economic reformers in Nepal should rally for bigger social transformation and to bring about social reforms. If we work together we can help bring about drastic changes because the role of the economy has largely confined. Economic reformists in Nepal must be trained in the skills they will need to organize action, including public speaking, managing people, preparing effective appeals for support, fundraising, and identifying and neutralizing informants and infiltrators. We can promote the economy through participation in programs that develop a consensus around eco-development issues. To contribute to the definition of a permanent economic policy through action, ideas and research aimed at the construction of a society based on policies of social justice and sustainable, humane development are needed. Economic development, whether in personal, group, or international relations requires a variety of capacities for self-transcendence: transcendence of one's own interests and perspectives for the sake of understanding the interests and perspectives of the other side, which calls for the virtue of empathy; transcendence of one's pride and defensiveness. We cannot forget how the violence targeted against the local infrastructure community forestry projects, small hydro plants, bridges, telephone stations, and office buildings. The closure of educational institutions, businesses and cession of ordinary life in the country in response to their frequent calls for "bandh" helped only to make the lives of ordinary people more difficult. However, economic reforms means that you not only set your objectives, you also understand why those are your objectives. It is a humanistic approach to negotiation that utilizes the strategies and tactical tools of successful reforms to achieve optimal results. Strengthening independent economic programs also can contribute to stability by broadening participation and enhancing prospects for democratic accountability and economic responsiveness. Economy-building can be organized by extternal actors such as NGOs, regional or international organizations and government. We must remember, the direct causes of per capita income and living standard increases are the tools, machines, materials, power sources, medicines, physicians, and manufacturing and commercial practices that are transformed into consumable goods and services comprising basic living standards that are summarized in per capita income statistics. Technologies affect living standards in three ways: (1) They create goods and service that people want, but don't have. Automobiles, telephones, most medicines and medical care did not exist at an earlier time. (2) They improve the quality of goods and services that people already have. Medicines, foods, clothing, medical care are improved compared to those available in former times. (3) They increase the availability of goods and services to more people by reducing the effort, waste, and cost to produce them. Food, clothing, housing, medicines and medical care became cheaper while their quality improved since earlier times. Technologies and associated incomes devoted to preventing people from killing and stealing from each other, i.e., judiciaries, prisons, police and military personal and institutions, restrict their being used to raise incomes and basic living standards, so however necessary they are in a world of aggression and acquisition, they are counterproductive to raising incomes. They are "necessary evils". Therefore, a poor country must import technology that produces more and better goods and services for its own people and for producing goods and services for trade with foreigners. This acquisition of technology requires large amounts of money ("capital"), which cannot be accumulated at home because that requires technology. It's a vicious cycle: technology depends on capital, which depends on technology, etc. Karl Marx acknowledged this cycle in his discussion of "M-C-M" (money-capital (= technology)-money). Thus, an initial loan or grant of "seed money" is required by poor countries from rich countries. Such loans, as we have seen from World Bank, IMF, and WTO efforts, do not necessarily make poor countries rich. There is a complex interplay of technology, geography, culture, economy and polity, that produce unknown, uneven effects, thus preventing guaranteed success of capital and technology inputs. These are discussed below. In contrast, those regions located in watered plains are the richest. Scanning the U.N. list from top to bottom, the only rich country that has too many mountains and too few navigable waterways is Switzerland. However, its geographical disadvantage is offset by its geographical location at former trade routes between rich countries that allowed it to accumulate sufficient capital and technology to "move mountains" (or, at least penetrate them with tunnels and cross the intervening valleys with bridges) and prosper. The use of technologies depends not only on geography, but also on culture. Nations that have no basic schools will forever be dependent on the largesse of the wealthy nations. In contrast, look at the lower half of the countries (87-174). With a few exceptions, like China (102), Philippines (104), Indonesia (114) and India (115), and the S. American countries, the educational systems are abysmally antiquated. Therefore, even if these countries had adequate technologies, which they don't, they would not even be able to adequately maintain imported technologies because of their poorly educated technicians. With regard to religious practices, again from a materialistic viewpoint, the rich countries have long ago made the pursuit of religious values subservient to those of wealth acquisition. Their schools provide education consistent with that end. On the other hand, those countries that prefer to spend time and education on religion matters cannot expect to enjoy high per capita incomes unless they are among the fortunate few that sit above precious petroleum, gold or diamonds required by the rich countries. But what happens when those riches are exhausted? Finally, in countries where allegiances are to tribes and clans rather than to all the people of the country, where these groups fight each other for wealth instead of the cooperating for it, money and technology will be used to fight and kill rather than raise living standards. Subsistence economies, like those of the nations' aborigines, resulted in their subjugation and doom by people with more advanced economies that featured the division of labor, technologies, and trade, i.e., capitalist economies. It is clear that a country with an unfavorable geography, or culture, or economy or polity is severely handicapped to use sufficient technological advances that increase the wealth and living standards of its people. Geography cannot be changed, but a country's leaders can slowly change its culture, economy and polity, and enjoy greater relative wealth. If it cannot change, then it is likely to remain poor, despite the enthusiastic and sanguine projections of its leaders, planners and would-be leaders. Countries with a combination of unfavorable geographies, cultures, economies and polities that do not change are doomed to remain relatively poor and, like beggars, will continue to depend on the altruism and largesse of the rich. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2001 U.N. Table(1): Rank Country Per Capita Income (PP US $) 1 Luxembourg 53,780 2 United States 34,320 3 Ireland 32,410 4 Iceland 29,990 5 Norway 29,620 6 Denmark 29,000 7 Switzerland 28,100 8 Netherlands 27,190 9 Canada 27,130 10 Austria 26,730 11 Belgium 25,520 12 Australia 25,370 13 Germany 25,350 14 Japan 25,130 15 Hong Kong 24,850 16 Italy 24,670 17 Finland 24,430 18 Sweden 24,180 19 Great Britain 24,160 20 France 23,990 21 Singapore 22,680 22 Cyprus 21,190 23 United Arab Emirates 20,530 24 Spain 20,150 25 Qatar 19,844 26 Israel 19,790 27 Brunei Darussalam 19,210 28 New Zealand 19,160 29 Kuwait 18,700 30 Portugal 18,150 31 Greece 17,440 32 Slovenia 17,130 33 Seychelles 17,030 34 Bahamas 16,270 35 Bahrain 16,060 36 Barbados 15,560 37 Korea, Rep. of 15,090 38 Equatorial Guinea 15,073 39 Czech Republic 14,720 40 Saudi Arabia 13,330 41 Malta 13,160 42 Hungary 12,340 43 Oman 12,040 44 Slovakia 11,960 45 Argentina 11,320 46 Saint Kitts and Nevis 11,300 47 South Africa 11,290 48 Estonia 10,170 49 Antigua and Barbuda 10,170 50 Mauritius 9,860 51 Costa Rica 9,460 52 Poland 9,450 53 Chile 9,190 54 Croatia 9,170 55 Trinidad and Tobago 9,100 56 Malaysia 8,750 57 Lithuania 8,470 58 Mexico 8,430 59 Uruguay 8,400 60 Botswana 7,820 61 Latvia 7,730 62 Belarus 7,620 63 Libya 7,570 64 Brazil 7,360 65 Namibia 7,120 66 Russian Federation 7,100 67 Colombia 7,040 68 Dominican Republic 7,020 69 Bulgaria 6,890 70 Grenada 6,740 71 Kazakhstan 6,500 72 Thailand 6,400 73 Tunisia 6,390 74 Samoa (Western) 6,180 75 Macedonia 6,110 76 Algeria 6,090 77 Iran 6,000 78 Gabon 5,990 79 Bosnia & Herzegovina 5,970 80 Turkey 5,890 81 Romania 5,830 82 Panama 5,750 83 Belize 5,690 84 Venezuela 5,670 85 Cape Verde 5,570 86 Dominica 5,520 87 St. Vincent & Gren. 5,330 88 Saint Lucia 5,260 89 El Salvador 5,260 90 Cuba 5,259 91 Paraguay 5,210 92 Fiji 4,850 93 Maldives 4,798 94 Guyana 4,690 95 Suriname 4,599 96 Peru 4,570 97 Guatemala 4,400 98 Ukraine 4,350 99 Swaziland 4,330 100 Turkmenistan 4,320 101 Lebanon 4,170 102 China 4,020 103 Jordan 3,870 104 Philippines 3,840 105 Jamaica 3,720 106 Albania 3,680 107 Morocco 3,600 108 Egypt 3,520 109 Syria 3,280 110 Ecuador 3,280 111 Vanuatu 3,190 112 Sri Lanka 3,180 113 Azerbaijan 3,090 114 Indonesia 2,940 115 India 2,840 116 Honduras 2,830 117 Kyrgyzstan 2,750 118 Armenia 2,650 119 Papua New Guinea 2,570 120 Georgia 2,560 121 Uzbekistan 2,460 122 Nicaragua 2,450 123 Lesotho 2,420 124 Djibouti 2,370 125 Bolivia 2,300 126 Zimbabwe 2,280 127 Ghana 2,250 128 Moldova 2,150 129 Viet Nam 2,070 130 Gambia 2,050 131 Angola 2,040 132 Mauritania 1,990 133 Sudan 1,970 134 Guinea 1,960 135 Solomon Islands 1,910 136 Pakistan 1,890 137 Comoros 1,870 138 Cambodia 1,860 139 Haiti 1,860 140 Bhutan 1,833 141 Mongolia 1,740 142 Cameroon 1,680 143 Togo 1,650 144 Laos 1,620 145 Bangladesh 1,610 146 Senegal 1,500 147 Uganda 1,490 148 C�te d'Ivoire 1,490 149 S�o Tom� & Principe 1,317 150 Nepal 1,310 151 Central African Republic 1,300 152 Rwanda 1,250 153 Tajikistan 1,170 154 Mozambique 1,140 155 Burkina Faso 1,120 156 Chad 1,070 157 Eritrea 1,030 158 Myanmar 1,027 159 Kenya 980 160 Benin 980 161 Congo 970 162 Guinea-Bissau 970 163 Niger 890 164 Nigeria 850 165 Madagascar 830 166 Mali 810 167 Ethiopia 810 168 Yemen 790 169 Zambia 780 170 Burundi 690 171 Congo, Dem. Rep. of 680 172 Malawi 570 173 Tanzania, U. Rep. of 520 174 Sierra Leone 470 Kamala Sarup is an editor of peacejournalism.com Copyright © 2006, NewsBlaze, Daily News