Quite surprised to see Maximum talking about 'free' this and 'free' that. I don't know but may be I have a lot of catching up to do. When did market suddenly become 'free' (reference to Maximum's 'we are now part of OPEN FREE MARKET') ? Might as well say that there is such a thing as 'Free Lunch'. Probably you meant to say 'we are now part of Global Market or Global Economy'. Also, the qualifier OPEN is problematic. Paradoxically, the existence of WTO itself is ample proof that so called free trade is not 'free' either. WTO is more a multilateral approach (very noninclusive and opaque one at that) for 'managing' or 'negotiating' trade between member countries, where what ends up on your plate depends very much on the bargaining powers of the South apropos the North, and how well member countries individually negotiate under the WTO framework, and position or reorient their economies. I get a little nervous every time I see the qualifier 'FREE' being tossed about so casually. Re: WTO, well my hunch is that most developing countries joined it not because of any perceived net benefits (which the twin gospel of specialization and trade promises), but because they were afraid of being 'left out in the cold'. While the latter may be a valid reason for joining WTO, the decision to join was hardly taken from a position of strength or even comparative advantage. Now that Nepal has already joined WTO (with very little public debate preceding accession to WTO) through ADHYADESH, I don't decry Nepal's decision at all. I believe the sooner our policymakers reject 'FREE' this and "FREE' that mentality, the sooner they will be able to make better decisions in the national interests. They probably still think freebies, junket trips, grants, charities are indeed 'FREE'. What are free to them [if they mistakenly think so], are not necessarily free for the country. Like Armand Hammer, the American oil tycoon cum philanthropist, once put it: "I only give to get more." It would be interesting to see what price India will exact from Nepal, if it already has not, for providing military assistance to Nepal. Free market and free trade are not free. This is not a critique of the two, or even of globalisation. But simply my observation why Nepali people's perceptions must change to reflect this 'nothing is for free' reality, which is really the bedrock of economics, at least in the socio-political-economic context. Karmapa