Long Live the King

Long Live the King by Sauvik Chakraverti   

1 Jun 2005, 0014 hrs IST, The Times of India 

Multiparty democracy with universal adult suffrage is a very recent phenomenon in human history. Europe had Hohenzollers, Hapsburgs and Romanovs till the end of World War I. My point is this: Since libertarians believe in minimal government, what could be smaller than a king? Hong Kong and Singapore are prospering without democracy. Why can’t Nepal do the same? Adam Smith, writing in the mid-18th century, gave three tasks to the king: "The sovereign has only three duties to attend to: The duty of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies; secondly, the duty of establishing an exact administration of justice; and thirdly, the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and public institutions". So, according to Smith, if the king looked after defence, justice and public goods, society would flourish like never before. If the king of Nepal can do these things, the poor people of Nepal will be free to generate wealth for themselves. 

The solemn oath to ensure justice lay at the heart of mediaeval kingship in England and France. The same was true for the rulers of the Indian princely states. In the book, Lives of the Indian Princes, the Maharawal of Dungarpur makes it clear that justice was a prime value to Indian princes. He is quoted saying: "I was head of theexecutive and head of the legislature. As far as the courts were concerned, there were practically no pending cases — and that was a characteristic feature of the Indian (princely) states". The king of Nepal can recruit good judges from the international skills market.Simultaneously, if he declares unilateral free trade and the judges preserve property rights, the Nepali people will realise they don’t need democracy and party politics. Instead, they will seek their sustenance in the free market and their security and justice under their monarch. With free trade and property rights under the rule of law, Nepal will gallop from feudalism to full-fledged capitalism. The lure of Maoist ideology will fade as free markets and the resulting prosperity kick in. Then, democracy can be ushered in. Democracy now is a bad idea. 

The writer is a regular freelance contributor.  

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1156865.cms