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cducation, religion, media, and so on. Why is this all so important in relation to building a new society?
Most of the articles in the book were written soon after 1917 in Russia. They and the exploited, had been broken down. But in the isolation and backwardness of Russia, the material proconditions to make the economic and social revolution a reality did not yet exist. The tasks of industrialisation - aimed at developing the means of of production to begin to fulfil the needs of the new ruling class (the proletariat) - were enormous. And these were by no means merely technical. For instance, the new proletarian state power needed the support of the peasantry - who desperately needed machinery if they were to feed the towns without starving themselves. But they also needed convincing that the now ways were really going to work work out better in the long run. Trotsky was aware of these problems, and of the need to train and oducate people capable of carrying out this work.
Laying the material foundations of the new socicty and convincing people, by propaganda and example, of it superiority over the old are fundamental tasks of socialist reconstruction. But no-one knew better than Trotsky that many of the problems encountered may have roots deeper than we at first see, and that overthrowing and transforming the old society cannot be understood or accomplished without this change permeating every nook and cranny and facet of life. He made the point in one of the articles on education that people (most people) learn from their own immediate experience - from problems and radictions in their own lives, which Fi at various times into wider strugg up wider social and political contradictions. During times of great pcial upheaval, people will assimilate experience quickly and act decisively, because they will be involved in making their own lives and because there will be a necessity to make decisions politically and to take for the church and her ritual. Howis a martlage to be celebrated, or the birth of a child in the family? How is one to pay the tribute of affection to the beloved dead? It is this need of marking and decorating the princip al signposts along the road of life that Church ritual depends. " In such a way, a million petty custom prevuil, having long ago lost their original meaning but persisting mainly through unconscious force of habit.
The 1917 revolution and its immediate aftermath throw all these old habits and customs into the melting pot. Women, for instance, demanded (and won) the right to abortion and divorce on demand (marriage became merely a civil contract dissoluble by either party at will) and real beginnings were made in the cirection of communal restaurants, creche facilities, and so on, to lay the material basis for the withering away of the bourgeois family. But this was not to last.
In 1936 Trotsky wrote "The Revolution Betrayed" analysing the burcaucratic degcheration of the Soviet worker's state, He showed how the leadership of the party and state was won by a political tendancy representing the conservative interests of a developing state bureaucracy, and how the empirical adaptions made by that leadership to the specific backwardness of the Sovict Union and its isolation after the failure in the west reflected those interests.
In one chapter of "Revolution Betrayed" (reproduced In "'Problems of Everyday Life") Trotsky analysed the specific effects of this degeneration upon the position of women - noting, particualry the retrogressive legislation which was introduced on abortion, divorce, hompsexuality, and the revivial of the cult of motherhood and the family.
The return to the old ways (except that the bourgeois family, for Instance, was now exalted in the guise of the "socialist family) in these fields was of course facilitated by the fact that the old customs and habits were too recently overthrown to have been destroyed This collection of articles has been written by a number of women social workers and covers a wide range of topics, which broadly speaking fall into two categories. The policy of the Welfare State towards wamen, who significantly happen to be its principle clients, and some of the first attempts so far to analyse the development of the Welfare State within capitalism, its policy towards the family and the role of the social worker, the majority of whom are also women.
One of the most important articles by Angela Weir argues that both social wark and a woman's domestic labour within the home are necessary for the efficient reproduction of labour power. Due to this there are structural similurities as oct ween the nature of social work and the role of women as wives and mothers. The series of reforms which led to the developmont of the modern Welfare State as we know it were primarily concerned with forming the necessary material basis for the crcation of working class family life, with women playing the key role as wife and mother.
It was hoped in this way to stem the prom ing tide of political unrest among the working class, so creating a labour force which would contorm more citiciently to the relatices of production required by capital Women's role in the family was the linch pin to this whole system, hence the gloes ication of motherhood by many of th social reformers. In response to thi work became increasingly bound the treatment of any deviatio of women from this all impor stowed upon them The actual pol one peniod has t the standard of l and the actual availabunty of resources. Thc current organisation, following the Secbohm Report, is an attempt to cut down the allocation of resources to the kocial services by farming out tasks previously undertaken by the Welfare State to the community, such as
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the care of the aged, the mentally handicapped, ete. It is obvious that this will mean an increasing burden falling upon the woman in the family. What other articles also point out is that it will be women as social workers who will be faced with the task of implementing this new system.
It is around this central contradiction that women social workers have radicalised opening up new perspectives for action in solidarity with their women clients, who after all foot the bill financially and emotionally for this new policy. Many of the articles in this issue are concerned with working out what sort of action women as social warkers should he taking, and the sort of demands which they should be taking up. Saggestions in this issuc of Case-Con range from campaigning for more free full-time nurseries, concern about the conditions of women at work, fighting against lepislation in the welfare field which forces women into a dependant status, i.e. the co-habitation ruling, ete.
The umpetus for women social workers to take up these demands is also reinforced by the postion in which they find themselves as social workers. Asis pointed out in a number of articles women social workers do a job whuch is tarpely an extension of thcir traditional caring' role, while men tend to take the top jobs organising and administering their work, (Scebohm reinforces this trend).
Social work falls into the category of low status work with low pay and unequal oppoAs Vanessa Stilwell points out in her article, women social workers in NALGO. the union, must raise demands in relation to this state of affairs, campaigning for equality of opportunity, equal pay, cic. Howerer. as she points out thcy must not just stop short at raising demands relating to their own particular work situation, but raise bronder issues within the union such us. nurscries. housing, etc.
Although Vanessa Srilwell does not reach this conclusion her article is in fact an excellent notivation for social workers to take up the Working Women's Charter, mentioned elsewhere in this issue. The importance of the Charter is that it des preciscly what Stilwell argues is crucial - It goes beyond taking up demands which relate working situation and includes demands for nurseries, ahortion, cte.
-JENNY FROST Marxism and Feminism Charnie Goettel of the Canadian Revolutionary Marxist Group).
We welcome Charnic Guettel's Marxian and Feminism as a useful contabution to the discussion of a theory of women's liberation. This book provides a clear overview and stimulating critique of the writings of its major theorists over the past 100 years John Stuart Mill, Engels, the carly suffragists, Simone de Beauvoir, Kate Millett, Juiliet Mitchell and Shulamith Firestone.
outlines some of the basic Marxist perspectives for understanding women's oppression and the means to libration. She criticizes radical feminism as well as bourgeois feminism for its liberalism-for its tradition of personalized solutions-where freedom for women becomes a question of changing women's consciousness without understanding that such a change necessitates an entire reorganisation of the social relations of socicty for women's liberation conceives of the transformation of sexual relations upart from the revolution of the dominant economic relations of society. This split in capitalist society between the public realm of generalised commodity production and the private realm of family and personas relations.
Split Of Personal And Political al separtist approach and at the same time shows a now concern with the realm of personal relations, she chares with the feminists their inability to connect the politics of the private world and those of the realm of public production of the political failure of the Soviet Union and the CP's in the west to connect wark within the trade unions with the struggle of women outside production against their oppression. Guettel works from within this tradition and is only partially able to break out of its more stultifying limitations Although the basis has recently been laid for integrating the struggle against women's oppression with the anti-capitalist struggle, both theoretically and in practice, only smail steps have been taken in this direction thus far. But while we fully appreciate the difficulties of bridging this gap, we must state frankly that Guettel largely fails to grapple with this problem Guettel perceives housework, for inonly to thc tive consumption'. But this ignores the full tole of the housewite, cconomically and idcologically -in the socialisation of children, in general family tension management, in the organisation of the family's commodity consumption and as an everaccessible sexual partner on her husband's terms, tied to his timetable of work and leisure.
-not vulgar, but economist nonetheless. Thus, she does not draw on any of the salient aspects of radical feminism. Accepting the terms of debate between "feminism' and "Marxism' her work is lopsided, limited to an analysis of the 'economic", Like the feminists, Guettel continues to see the family as a separate sphere of life divorced from the larger society. This equates work with wage labour and production with the production of surplus value. It falls to In simple, but not crude terms, Guettel The traditional separation of a strategy is itself a reflection of the complete separation Although Guettel criticises the traditionthemsclves.
Hor failure must be soen in the contest or provide building blocks for such a project.
stance, as maintenance work and unproducissues?
Essentially Guettel's analysis is economist Identify women as housewives and mothers as workers in relation to capitalist production effectively excieding the housewife from socialist politics.
Women, Production, And Alienation Guettel implies (p.49) that women's subjection is due entirely to the fact that she lacks access to the wage labour market to support herself and her children. The remedy prescribed for a complete cure is still Tull integration in production and a breakdown of sex-typed roles, without which childcare and social vervices would remain female occupations. The way to struggle for the latter does not even emerge in her strategy at the end of the book Guettel recognises the need for conscious political struggle in these areas, but it is implied that this is to wait until socialism has been won. Here, she retreats to a theory of revolution by stages. Because she sees the possibility for womens" struggles in this society in such a limited way, Guettel inevitably opens up a division between the maximum demands under capitalism. This lays the door open for a naive over-ostimation of the potential of struggles for democratic rights in and of Guettel's vagueness here is made most evident in the final section of the book where she deals with strategy.
One of her three strategic demands is for *a mass movement to tax the corporations for universal state daycare democratically controlled. " She makes a fantastic assumption that state day caccould be democratically controlled. "Daycare wouk be an extension of the public school system" (p.61). As if the public school system was democratically controlled! Asif any state institution was not primarily serving the interests of the ruling class! Asil the science of childrearing and Infant care could serve the workers real interests!
Inadequacy Of Strategy Guettel x bther two demands are: B) struggle at the work place and in the trade unions for equal pay for work of equal value, and 2) organising the unorganised What has happened to the crucial problems of sex-typing of jobs'Of the entrenched sales of woman as 'mother" and wife'Of the need to share parenthood? As long as childcare is female no matter how public. certain inoquulities will persist' (p.29) Too true. Why is it necessary to wail until the working chiss seizes state power, in order to begin the struggle on these For the most part Guertel Is suggesting reformist strategies for the struggle under capitalism and utopian demands for 'after the revolution'. The way to cut through this split is to pose transitional demands such as workers and parent control of daycare. Guettel dees not provide for a link between immediate demands, such as daycare and equal pay for work of equal value, and a strategy for the general transformation of women's place in thir society.
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STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT Red Ladder is a professional group that normally dorms for Trade Union audiences. It presented is production at a meeting organised by the Adloc Committee against SPUC, to a packed and very appreciutive audience One of their longest plys, it explores the question of women's oppression. From starry-eyed bride to harassed mother, the woman at the centre of the play at first plays the conventional female role, But when she returns to work, to car some money and escape boredom, she comes up against problems both at home and at work. How she starts to find a way to solve those problems, to break with "normal' female passivity and the "normal' female role, is the theme of this highly amusing play. It does not duck the difficult problem of male chauvinism and the divisions it can create inside the working-class. The points are got across without dogna.
Red Ladder ends its shows with a discussion both about the politics and presentation of the play. Unfortunately, time prevented much discussion on this particular occasion and this makes it even more important that as many people as possible should have the chance to see it and discuss it on further presentation. Trade unionists, Wonen's Charter groups and others should organise moetings at weekend schools, conferences, etc, at which this excellent play can be seen.
"Natalie.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEN AND WOMEN Background notes on social studies. Published by Workers" Educational Association Service Centre for Social Studies, Temple House, 9 Upper Berkeley Street, London WIH SEY 18p each, post free; reduction for bulk.
This pamphlet is especially useful for its extracts and summaries of the debates on the various Anddiscrimination Bills the Green papers produced by the two parties, and comments on all these by varlous bodies (the TUC, etc). It also contains a num ber of useful facts on women's employment", education, day release, ete;
There is a summury of the Labour Party's pre-election proposals and promises, which should be compared with the reality: wo now know that "no discrimination on grounds of sex" only applies if it does net conflict with the need to keep potential immigrants out and that the promised revision of "grants to married women students taking degree level or teacher-training courses" will actually leave many married women students even more dependant on their husbunds than at present.
A very useful little pamphlet that covers arcas of information not previously available in such a handy form.
in our next issNe IF YOU WANT TO USE THE PLAYS OR WOULD LIKE FORTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: RED LADDER THEATRE 58 HOLBEIN HOUSE HOLBEIN PLACE LONDON SWI Tel: 01-730-5396 01-263-1053 THE CASE OF JEAN JEPSON VICTIMIZATION, BUREAUCRACY AND MASS STRUGGLE Recently, hard-won trade union rights have come increasingly under attack, mainly through the use of the Industrial Relations Act and the Conspiracy laws. Fundamental class weapons, such as the right to strike and to picket, have been endangered This year, wo have seen another crucial right being chullenged: that trade unionists may choose their own representatives. The women's movement has rightly attacked the undemocratic nature of the union bureaucracy, but too often (as in Women, the Trade Unions and Work by Selma Jamex) forgets that at the shop-floor lovel a tradition of elected representutives, directly responsible to their membership, has grown up, often in the face of official apposition.
The most publicised recent case of atlacks on elected shop-stewards has been that of Alan Thomett (sce elsewhere in this issue) bet equally fundamental issues have been raised in that of Jean Jepson.
Jean was a convenor at Armstrong Patents Ltd near Hall, with a fine record of winning wage demands for her members and fighting for equal pay. During the three day week she fought to maintain the guarenteed working-week, in line with the official national policy of her union, Transport and General Workers. Ana result, she was sacked. The story of her fight for re-instatement - a fight which, sadly, is by no means over - is a complesone. It raises numerous issues: union democracy, the importance of solidarity actions in industrial disputes, the extremcly vunerable position of woren workers, and the whole question of howthe employers are preparing now to take on the working-class.
The story is related in a clear, detailed way in a pamphlet produced by Hull International Marxist Group as a contribution to the campaign of the Armstong Defence Committee. Whilst its portrayal of the part played by the union and others does not make for happy roading, there are also some brighter aspects: the tenacity of Jeun herself and her supporters, the solidarity of the dockers and other workers, and the description of the way in which the left has taken up the fight against victimization.
a necessary preparation for further struggles of this kind, which are certain to come. In addition, it should be seen as part of Jean's defence - this campaign should be vigourously taken up by all sections of the labour movement now.
L.L.
The Armstrongs Defence Committee can be contacted at 7 Parkside Close, Park Avenue, Hull, Yorks (0482-492850) Donarions and messages of support should he sent to: Strike Committee. 39 St. Hilda's Street, Bridlington. E. Yorks.
JEAN JEPSON
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deal with the problems of socialist recon- struction after the revolution. The main economic contradictions of socicty, be- tween owners and producers, exploiters
and it is this monotony that wears out the nervous system......Hence comes the need
Canadian Women's Educational Press /974. (Reprinted from the Old Mole-The Paper
N.B. As we go to press, the Marional Council for Cill Liberties has published a "model anti-discrimination bill. We shall be reviewing this and any proposed Government legislarion
This pamphlet whould be read by all trade union militants and by those in the woren's movement. as
WOMENS LIBERATION WITHOUT REVOLUTION
REVOLUTION WITHOUT WOMENS LIBERATION
Now obtainable again: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, by ALEXANDRA KOLLANTAL 9p including postage