Supper Club Debate Draws Enthusiastic Audience

December 1984

Friday, October 26 saw over 40 libertarians turn out at the Dragon Inn Restaurant to hear Mark Sager and Wayne Marsden debate the merits of political activism through a libertarian party.

Sager, a former West Vancouver School Board Chairman and recently elected alderman, has been active within the Social Credit Party provincially and the Tories federally. He argued that more could be accomplished by a libertarian working within the established political parties for less government and more freedom.

Marsden, recently the Libertarian candidate federally in Fraser Valley East, where he drew the largest number and percentage of votes of any Libertarian running in BC, he argued that Libertarian parties are not only viable, but necessary. In particular, he argued for the establishment of provincial Libertarian Party.

Marsden delivered an impassioned speech, which appears elsewhere in this newsletter. Neither speaker managed to convince the other, although both Marsden and Sager agreed that there is no single correct way to promote liberty in our province. Each individual must pursue a course with which he or she feels comfortable.

The audience as usual participated vocally. Some unanswered questions discussed included: "Will a libertarian in an established party be held responsible for some of the 'mistakes' made in the party's name?"; "Perhaps Canadians 'don't yet' want less government. Aren't libertarians mistakenly assuming the public will vote that way as soon as they hear the libertarian message?" We hope our Supper Club contributed to some long term thinking about the means to achieve liberty in BC.

The buffet-style Chinese dinner was excellent, and moderately priced. But the room was crowded and the acoustics were poor. We are still looking for the ideal location for the Supper Club (inexpensive, quiet, good food, and centrally located).