2. Plato, Democracy and Nepal
In my previous article, I started with comparing the basics of Plato’s democracy to that of Nepal. The general comparison was sound but we need to dig deeper. In this article, I will be creating an outline for the classes in democracy, primarily explaining my take on the apparent ruling class.
To bring more of Plato’s idea of democracy into context we need to compare the backbone of the regime, the classes of democracy. Plato believed that there are three classes of democracy and these classes work together to form a democratic system. People suppose that the granted liberty acts as equalizer among citizens in a democracy. That is never true. Not in a single regime that has ever existed, however free, have all the citizens been equal. The reality is all of us are unique and none of us are equal. Therefore, classes exist in democracy.
There is always a ruling class in all of the regimes classified or imagined by Plato. Since a ruling class exists, so does a servant class. But these two classes are not characteristic of a democracy. They exist in every regime. In a pure democracy, there is never supposed to be a ruling class, only individuals. However, as ambiguity surrounds what a ruling class in Nepal is, there is the need to discuss the issue.
Some might wonder if there has been a ruling class in Nepal since the Shah dynasty while others might claim that the Olis and Dahals and Deubas are the ruling class of Nepal. Some might go as far as to say that Khas Aryas are the ruling class. But not all Khas Aryas are rulers, neither are all Olis and Dahals and Deubas. Therefore, we need to devise a systematic division of what a ruling class in Nepal is.
Firstly let us identify who are the rulers of a democratic Nepal. Could we suppose the council of ministers as the rulers of Nepal and be limited to that assumption? If we do so, we miss out on the argument that there are local rules and governance, hence local rulers too. In addition, each administrative structure of a variety of institutions in Nepal is divided into further sub-structures. As an end result we have a pool of professionals, ranging from Mayors to Army generals, Chief District Officers to department heads, all of whom could be called rulers of democratic Nepal.
Now that we have identified the rulers, we might as well devise a method to sort out the ruling class. Just because a person is in a ruling position does not mean that they are from the ruling class. In most cases, that would just be a ruler from a non-ruling class. What if there are two generations of rulers in a family? That could take place due to coincidence without factors such as nepotism. But when we reach three generations of rulers in a family, it is imperative that the upcoming generations are groomed to be rulers as well. And if that grooming is not preparation enough, there is always the alternative of nepotism and favoritism. Still, what is a ruling class?
My understanding of a ruling class is the group of interconnected families that have seen at least three consecutive generations of rulers. For example a family where the grandfather was an industrialist, the father is a CDO and the son is in good standing in the army qualifies as a family in the ruling class. By this definition former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal does not belong to the ruling class. Indeed, he broke out of ranks, defying odds to rule the country. The succeeding generation of his family is in ruling positions too. Minister Bina Magar is an example. Although similar in this aspect, Baburam Bhattarai is from the ruling class, his father-in-law Dharma Ratna Yami was a deputy prime minister and his daughter Manushi Yami is a political leader, marking three generations of rulers in the Bhattarai-Yami family.
In addition to the three generation classification, to be in the ruling class at least one generation of the family has to be in some power position or ensured one. And as I have already highlighted, this position does not necessarily have to be prime minister. Mayors, army generals, media owners, industrialists, department heads, CDOs, secretaries, specialist doctors, ranking government engineers, all of these are ruling positions. Together, they form the ruling class.
