Marco Revisited

by Marco den Ouden
February 1983

This article was reprinted from The Libertarian, December 1979.

On December 13, an NDP sponsored non-confidence motion was passed in the House of Commons and Canadians now face another federal election. But what this country needs is a vote of non-confidence in government per se. The debacle of six months of Conservative government has shown, with resounding clarity, that there is no real difference between the profligate Liberals and cowardly two-faced Conservatives.

Let's just compare two significant examples. In an election several years ago, the Liberals promised no to impose wage and price controls. After being reelected, controls were imposed. In the election last May, the Tories promised tax cuts and spending cuts. Once elected they sang a different tune: higher taxes and the largest deficit in Canada's history. Two-faced dishonesty is inherent in the nature of politics. The man who said there is no such thing as an honest politician was right. Instead there are just degrees of dishonesty.

And the dishonesty of the New Democratic Party, which condemns a company for "excessive profits" when that same company could make greater profits by investing all its assets in Canada Savings Bonds, does not need discussion.

Is there much hope for change through the political process? Would a vote for the Libertarian Party be a worthwhile effort? Much as I sympathize with the LP, my disgust with politics has reached the point where I cannot vote for any party that takes the electoral process seriously and treats it as legitimate. I urge all my friends and acquaintances to spoil their ballots or vote for a Party that is obviously mocking the electoral process, such as the Rhinoceros Party.

What concerned Canadians must do is not to opt for a headache over an upset stomach, but to condemn disease as such. It is not a question of rejecting the Tories or the Grits or the NDP. It is a question of rejecting the legitimacy of government, period.