By Madan Lamsal

Anyone who tries to impose Nepal a controlled or a mixed economy is for sure to doom. It is because Nepal's economy is by nature and inherently free and freak, and will continue to be like that. 

Before 1991 Nepal was somehow closed and controlled economy. After that so called democratic parties said they were trying to make Nepal a 'free economy'. But the right word was 'economy-free' which meant a 'country without economic activities'. This 'economy-free' became highly successful, of course, by the support of people's war that brought a complete halt to the economic activities. By this token, the Maoists are the biggest free-market forces of the country.  Now some of the parties, including the very free-market forces in the government, are campaigning to make a 'mixed economy'.

This indeed is a great idea. Mixing is also our great national character. Mix your business with politics and end result is: businessmen become members of parliament and politicians soon become billionaires. Mix trade-unionism in politics, the unionists become political leaders and businesses vanish from the country.

Every Nepali is enjoying the freedom to mix one economic activity with the other.  For example, one can carry fake currencies around and carry extortion racket simultaneously. In fact these mixtures were possible only because we have immense economic freedom. This is how the free-economy actually fathers the mixed one.

If we analyze meticulously, in a broader sense, Nepal was a free economy even before 1990. Nepal started to allow freaks to visit Nepal in the 60s. Then she brought 'Jhiti Gunt' policy which allowed people to bring in everything from gold to clothes to Nepal without paying duty. There also was a duty-free shop opened at the Tribhuvan International Airport to facilitate people to enjoy this freedom.

But two years ago this duty-free shop was closed down by the then Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai for quite good reason. He wanted to make TI airport 'free of duty' as well as'free of spirits' and '˜free of smoke' so that anybody coming from abroad can bring the liquors and cigarettes without paying duty at the airport. Therefore, now people buy such goods abroad and pay duty to the governments abroad.

Anyway, slowly Nepal is entering such an era of free economy where everything can come free here from gold to goldfish and from birds to briefcases full of things you name them. We must keep everything under the sun free in the country.  Entry for the Nepalis into casinos must be kept free so that they can be free of their burden of physical wealth and sometimes gamble their own lives away.  Similarly, poachers must be left free to kill rhinos and other endangered species for money .

These are only a few examples of economic freedoms that Nepali people are enjoying and also these are the testimonies that Nepal no way wants other than the free-market, be that controlled or mixed economic policies. They have faith only in freedom - free donation, free education, free money (payment without work), free prizes etc. We also have free students union and free labour unions. There are campaigns going on for women's freedom, freedom to the indigenous people and freedom of religion. The government does not try to control corruption. By controlling corruption you will be controlling a freedom. By the same logic, doesn't control inflation. Similarly, some people are enjoying full freedom to indulge in flesh trade. For all these reasons our economy is only best fitted to be called free economy. Nepal cannot have a controlled or mixed economy. Thus the advocates of these models of  economies surely do not have a  future.