Written by Laurence Brahm - Published by Review Asia on 09/01/2008

Nepal's rebel-turned-premier is striving for a socialist-capitalist economy. In Bhutan, the monarchy has practically committed regicide. Are these the signs of things to come?

Rapid cohesion of ideals based on pragmatic grassroots experience from Nepal to Bhutan is forming a new alternative consensus on development already challenging assumptions underlying our global financial system. "This is a new ideal that should be developed and crystallized," says Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepal's new prime minister, known by his guerilla name Prachanda, or "the sharp one".

"This Himalayan Consensus is special given the unique physical and spiritual dimension of this region, and the political and economic institutions developing here should encompass these ideas," he adds.

Upon reaching the threshold of power after years of guerilla struggle, Nepal's Maoists laid down their arms and entered politics as a legitimate party demanding the abolition of the monarchy and the declaration of a republic. Prachanda's leadership set an unprecedented example of how many global conflicts can he solved.

On August 18, Prachanda was elected prime minister. Immediately upon assuming that top position, he began his first state visit - to Beijing - underscoring new emphasis on China-Nepal relations. En route, as he transited via Lhasa, he met Tibet Autonomous Region chairman Xiangba Pingcuo. In Beijing, Prachanda was received by President Hu jintao and Premier Wen jiabao.

Significantly, all of Nepal's previous leaders were expected to make their first state visit to New Delhi, given traditional ties and India's dominant influence in South Asia. Instead, Prachanda chose China, underscoring Nepal's new role in The balance of power between these two giants. Nepal shares a vast border with Tibet and with final peace settlement among Nepal's diverse political parties -the country can serve as a rudder of stability in the otherwise volatile Himalayan region.

Ironically, it was Washington Consensus stalwarts such as USAID, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which ended up - through the conditions demanded by their programs - creating a cycle poverty, which in turn gave the Maoists their constituency. Widespread popular support allowed Prachanda to lead his Maoist guerillas from jungle-fighting to become a mainstream political party contesting and winning open elections. Today, Nepal is arguably one of the most liberal democratic nations in The world, with a free press to match.

"The economic policy of China has become a great success," Prachanda says. “But the current line has also led to corruption and social poverty. I don't want to follow blindly the IMF and World Bank, either. China went from socialism to capitalism, and we want to go from capitalism to socialism. For both, it is a matter of finding an economic middle way. We cannot ignore globalization and capitalism. We want a mixed economy that combines socialism and market economics. This combination is necessary."

The Himalayan Consensus draws together three principles: firstly, exchange of economic lessons among nations of the region without adherence to any single model; secondly, drawing upon ideals of human equality, diversity and ecological protection of the major philosophies of This spiritually rich region; and thirdly, allowing political structures to develop based on the indigenous cultural heritage of each nation, again without imposing Western prescriptions.

Similarly, Bhutan is forging its own path alternative to that of Washington Consensus values. Its king's concept of gross national happiness (GNH) for his people defies traditional gross national product (GNP) growth as a formula for measuring economic success. It shatters assumptions that more wealth and consumer-driven marketing cycles can promote better social development.

Rather, Bhutan's leaders maintain that greed-based "invisible hand” economics can destroy traditional society and culture, in turn stoking social disorder, unhappiness and political instability. Fearing the consequences of the Maoist uprising against the monarchy in Nepal, Bhutan's royal house has already introduced a bicameral democracy with the monarch assuming a symbolic role.

Bhutan's GNH concept emerged with the Fourth King of Bhutan. His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who took over the throne in 1962. Willing to break with convention, he sought a new paradigm of development more focused on the end rather than the means. In 1986, when interviewed by the Financial Times, he made his famous statement: "Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product."

From this point on, GNH began upending assumptions of conventional economists, drawing sharp questions, and calling for a new benchmark measuring national success rather than conventional GNP. Even cynics started to notice, with the World Bank sending delegations to Bhutan to try to use empirical means to measure GNH.

Developing an index for GNH seems less important to many at the core of this concept of redefining the balance between materialism and spirituality in economic development, quantity versus quality of life, and the importance of adhering to and evolving one's ethnic identity against the onslaught of mono-cultural globalization.

"To talk about GNH, you must look from different contexts," explains Lungtaen Gyatso, director of the Institute of Language and Culture Studies at the Royal University of Bhutan, himself a practicing monk.

"You cannot say what is agreed in Bhutan can be accepted in the US. Globalization is moving towards mono-culture. We want to stick to what we are and when we talk about GNH, we talk about our values. Preservation of culture is important to the Bhutanese."

As for the future of GNH as a concept, he adds: "This is just the beginning and Buddhism says there is no end to anything." Dasho Meghraj Gurung, a board member of the Bhutanese Studies Center, spent his career articulating the GNH concept. "To understand the genesis of GNH, we must go back to the essence of our traditional culture," he says. "Our own cultural construct was greatly influenced by Buddhism. Within this context, people have already internalized the notion of everlasting happiness.

"We need a new development paradigm to regenerate values. Relations are all defined by dollars. Somehow the human being is lost in the press. A new ideological base gives bigger meaning to life. Let's make life more comfortable with less conflicts, bring health care back to the people."

Karma Phunrosho, of the Loden Foundation and a lecturer at Cambridge, observed: "Egalitarian principles of Buddhism prioritize that all people are equal. Buddha was the first advocate of equality among races and classes. Buddha led a movement - I don't know if you can call it a revolution - for the overthrow of castes."

In Nepal, Prachanda shares a similar philosophy. "All religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam - are part of Nepal's unified society and unique heritage. We are trying to revive Buddha and portray him as a hero of Nepal, and to focus attention on social harmony and the higher values of mankind," he says.

"I am keenly interested in the current efforts of Chinese President Hu jintao to forge a new national ideology of 'social harmony' around Buddhist philosophical tenets, which are resurfacing in their society. We are only against the adverse influences of superstition and any attempt to use religion as a means to gain state power."

Maybe we are part of a global caste system because we are born into it, having been successfully forged by the Washington Consensus? Or is it really a class system? How real is perceived upward mobility? "Remember, Buddha's revolution emphasis is on egalitarianism - tremendous equality!" says Karma Phuntosho.

The Himalayan Consensus revolution may be a re-engineering of values on a planet that is becoming increasingly smaller. "We need to redefine wealth," says Lyonpo Jigmi Y. Thinley, and the prime minister of Bhutan. "Is it a goal, a target of competition to continue to pursue wealth? What really constitutes wealth - material accumulation? Or is it greater spirituality with in the concept of what is a sustainable material development?" Maybe these questions are what the Washington Consensus fears most? As for the rise of Himalayan Consensus, "it is already happening," says Thinley.

Both Nepal and Bhutan, in their very different ways, are calling for firm action to assure ethnic diversity and cultural sustainable development against the globalized onslaught of conspicuous consumption. They wish to uphold values that are intrinsically Asian and specifically Himalayan, where spirituality and quality of life weigh heavily versus the materialism and accumulation judged as successful by Western mainstream standards. In the Himalayas, the melting pot stops here.

Laurence Brahm is a global activist, international mediator, political columnist and author. He is the leading advocate of a fresh development paradigm - The Himalayan Consensus - an innovative approach to development.

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