[draw them from the confines of the family'…]

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draw them from the confines of the family' • It may well drive them further into the family and even towards fascism. Of course women should be involved in organisations of workers control, in factory committees and in the equivalent bodies int the sphere of reproduction. But how do we get them to that point, and how do we combat the sexism that has pervaded and divided every organ of the labour movement so far?

Many women have been turned away from revolutionary politics by the sexism of the revolutionary groups themselves at the theoretical, organisational and personal levels.

Most Trotskyist groups have been extremely tardy in taking up forms of the exploitation of women and have developed no politica strategy of the kind Lenin considered necessary. And the personal behaviour of many revolutionary comrades is very sexist. Again Lenin, in speaking of rooting out the 'old master idea to its last and furthest root was aware of the problem.

NO SUBSTITUTE Socialist Press 7 castigates the consciousness raising groups of the women's liberation movement Clearly they are no substitute for revolutionary struggle, but it should be acknowledged that it was out of them that the force of the women's movement grew in all its hybrid forms and with its considerable influence on the trade union movement, as well, latterly, on groups on the revolutionary left. They have also contributed important understandings of sexism in bourgeois society, how it is trans mitted from the earliest socialisation of children, induces oppressive attitudes and behaviour in both men and women and severely weakens class struggle. Rather than viewing the division of sex as being above the class struggle, many tendencies in the women's movement regard it as a problem in addition to and linked with but certainly not reducible to the class struggle. This is clearly the Leninist position, and similar to the question of racism.

The entry of women on a mass scale into production has not proved sufficient to their emancipation, as Engels implied it would. The women's movement has taken the theories of the early Marxists an important step further from its The author of the Socialist Press 7 writes:

While I agree with the ma points in this letter, it does • prove that the "bodies, worki groups, commissions" etc., th Lenin speaks of should consist on of women.

Indeed it is precisely in order begin to combat the "sexist" att udes prevalent in revolution groupings in the past that it important to reemphasise the ne for the Workers Socialist Leag to take up the fight for wome rights as a party question, and n merely the sphere of its wom members.

It would have been right f the WRP to oppose "specia women's action committees in tra unions if (but only if) these ha been confined bureaucratically sol ly to women members.

The WSL fights through t trade union branches and tradi councils for the maximum mobi isation of the whole trade unic movement in support of each ser ion involved in struggle.

In exactly the same way • must fight to unite the who strength of the movement in ti struggle for women's rights. Th must entail a fight for support froi the traditionally better organise and more militant male-dominate sectors of industry.

To talk about organising a no party, all-women Congress after tl overthrow of capitalism is on thing. But we must be clear on th difference between the role of small revolutionary party strugglit under capitalism to win the mor politically conscious layers ‹ workers, and that of a mass part which has just led the workin class to the successful taking ‹ power.

For the mass revolutionar party under such conditions th task is to begin to lay the foun ations of socialism. For the revo utionary party today the questio is one of preparing the leadershi to take the working class to powe - this is a qualitative task which cannot be jumped over.

So whereas I agree that comm ittees of action on women's opt ression must be organised, thes must not be all-wo man committee Here is the beginnings of ou fundamental disagreements wi the Womens Liberation movemea

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women's issues, have done virtually no theoretical work on the specific