As a politician, Koirala struggled throughout his life for the establishment of a multi-party democracy in his country. Traditional forces, still strong to resist such effort, made it very hard for "B. P." to accomplish his political mission. As a social democrat, Koirala differed with communists; as he often said man cannot live by bread alone. He also differed with the capitalists as he thought that unbridled consumerism was immoral, and that the appalling exploitation of the world's resources was short-sighted and unrealistic. He believed that only socialism could guarantee political freedom and equal economic opportunities to the people. He said, "socialism is the wave of the future."