Happy Families?

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Thatcher-leading priestess of the cult of the family Also campaigning in defence of the family, Callaghan

Social waste

The social waste of such system-in which each household then needs its own cooking, washing, cleaning, gardening and entertainment• facilities rather than relying on planned, socialised amenities-is obvious.

So is' the profits to be made by whole sections of capitalist industry by perpetuating the arrangement.

But more important for capitalism is the way in which this system, by oppression of women within the isolated household, provides a cheap means of providing male labour for exploitation in the production process.

Thus basic chores, such as washing, cooking and child-care are given to women in order to liberate men for production.

The burden of these mundane tasks on women is today an ever increasing one, as the effects of public spending cuts force more and more social and health care problems back into the home.

This has meant in practice that women have become doubly oppressed.

Under conditions of general exploitation of the working class, women also remain oppressed in the domestic situation.

Complex question

The question of the family and the role played by women within it is a very complex one.

Two basic inter-related questions have to be tackled: the oppression of women and the disciplining of the class.

• Neither can be completely resolved on its own.

Although it is necessary to challenge the backward ideas of • many workers, including women as to the role of women in the family, the main thrust must be against capitalism itself.

The material and technological pre-requisites for liberating women from their daily chores certainly exist:

It would be a very simple step to provide state nurseries, communal catering and laundry and an improved health-care system. i But the resources for such a change remain tied up in the system of private ownership, which today, in fact, is in the process of dismantling even the limited facilities which do exist.

There is no way in which any of these facilities can be extended under capitalism, particularly capitalism in crisis.

Socialist economy

The oppression of women, as with the general oppression of the working class can only be overcome by liberating the means of production from private ownership and establishing a planned socialist It is hardly surprising that in this period of economic crisis, there are moves being made to strengthen the family. conference is being held to In a climate of worsening discuss them in detail. conditions of pay and employment for the are not far behind and often working class, the class make proposals just as reacbegins to increase its aware- tionary. ness of its own strength and under a revolutionary family and law-and-order a leadership could well fulfill central plank in the next its role of overthrowing election campaign and his capitalism. voice is echoed at every Developments in this level of social democracy. direction have to be halted.

One method used by the consisting of Sheffield defenders of capitalism- councillors, predominantly whether Tory or Labour-is Labour Party members, to strengthen the propa- have produced a report ganda on the subject of the dealing with the subject of family. vandalism.

The capitalist class is now moving onto the number of important points offensive. The question of worth quoting: the family is being increasingly linked that examine the family unit and of 'law and order'.

to ask whether in the later stages of the 20th century Central plank it is beginning to break down. What measures, if A number of Tories en up the question family unity?"

Q00 number of possibilities are suggested. The first suggestion is that mothers should be paid a salary to stay at home to look after their children, to bring families closer together and hopefully to keep an eye on the potential vandals.

The report goes on: «But surely the role of a mother is the most important part of family life ... it is felt that the present child allowance should be ended and in its place the mother would be given a salary if she wished to stay at home to continue to look after the children. "On the other hand, of course, she could choose to go out to work but then there would be no child allowance nor state salary."

Reactionary demand These •suggestions raise the question of whether or not women should be paid "wages for housework"

Labour Party members This is a demand which has been taken up and Callaghan has made the One working party, This report raises a "There is a need to any, can be taken to restore actual sharing of punishment with young offenders.

As already stated, the family and law and order are two topics on the lips of many a prominent Tory.

The fact that the cry is now widely taken up by social democrats highlights the fact that the Labour Party or government has nothing to offer the working class.

Beginning from the assumption that vandalism is a problem stemming from the. family and not a symptom of capitalism in crisis, with massive youth unemployment and low wages, the Labourites see the answer as being in the family.

This suits them very well.

It enables them to duck, yet again, the real issue at stake-what kind of society can resolve the problems facing the working class?

Day to day struggle For men and women to be fully liberated the working class must overthrow capitalism.

In the day to day struggles for women's rights the reformists of the Labour Party must be challenged and removed and a party built capable of leading the working class to power.

Social revolution alone can liberate the resources to provide for a progressive change in which the claustrophobic bourgeois family unit will little by little be replaced by a wider social unit, in which human relationships are allowed to develop free from the fetters of domestic labour and exploitation.

Andrew Wiard, Report

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RATSAO ›8D.J The TGWU's scandalous treatment of the Garners strikers was highlighted by several Whilst an example among many of the class nature of British justice the incident is further indictment of Region 1's agreement with