I WOULD like to take up some of the contradictions the confused article by Valerie Women, rape and class' co reo).
She attributes violence against wonten capitalism's division of the sexes and vet Says hink of women as their property because womet been subordinated certunes.
Women's, oppression -as transcended economic soundaries CuLures. and, Valerie admits, SlaVe LU ul calise independently to ensure it into socialism.
Where does she think this oppression irom? Men reap material benefits from women's oparession in many ways: :hrough sexual and in the by being able to walk the streets without tear of sexual harassment.
All men benefit (albeit passively) from this and hey have the potential to use the power it inevitably conters on them. This not to suggest any 'innate characteristic' of men — PAUL Andrews right Socialist Partv tor the developments that are taking the Labour Party (26 Feb), but he fails to answer all of Geoff Collier's criticisms of the International Marxist Group's approach to building the revolutionary party.
Geoff claims to be a 'supporter of genuine revolutionary and he wants individual IMG members to with the SWP to help bring this about.
The IMG has a different position on revolutionary unity is in favour of fusing SWP but as an tendency and on the basis that a fused organisation would have full freedom for minority tendencies, that is real democracy.
The SWP and the IMG have drawn different conclusions TrOm experences tendencies within their respective organisations and SWP's general conclusion is that tendencies are disruptive. comrades point many stances to support this conclusion, but there is one result of Workers organisation s democracy which place in face up to The political positions of the SWP majority quately debated, either within or outside their organisation. It is therefore Geoff only debates a caricature of the IMG positions as sectarian for no other reason forces than their disagreement with the SWP's position developments within the Labour Party are a it class struggle with the individual indriously consider siming rom organised their sectarian comrades' There are many aries in in the SWP, who believe that the internal emergence of a big left wing in the Labour Party has to be taken seriously. does not want to be in the same organisatior the he revolutionary unity' that essenSWP tially excludes ferences and therefore the mainjority of revolutionaries in tain today. internal they rarely require or even recoolist cuculons never ade surprising that He describes IMG members the ty. diversion from the He also calls on members Clear revolutionGeoff unfortunately these 'genuine political difBridon Real revolutionary unity will basic agreement on of and tactics, and in this respect there are some laroe ditterences between the IMG and the SWP. But there is little chance of clarifying these by debating caricatures of Only a common organisation can provide the necessary conditions for a real clarification of differences and therefore lay the Such an organisation must have full freedom of discussion of political alternatives and full rights for tendencies.
are accessible to all members ensure that the line of the majority is understood and put into practice by the whole organisation.
Until a unified revolutionary organisation is achieved, we will perience debate among revolutionaries that is too often simply utterance of commonplaces on which we can all agree in word but not in deed. TOM Marlowe wrote that the roval wedding will take place in the when 'incidentally' unemployment figtHes will break the Iwo and three-quarters (26 Feb). million mark It's no coincidence.
The wedding announcement was made day as yet one salic bleak set of unemployment figures were released Back 1973 Princess Anne's wedding was announced in the middle of the Lord which was causing faces among the ruling class.
Socialists who argue against the monarchy too often restrict themselves to explaining , how much the Queen & Co costs ordinary people.
But there is more to it such as ine monarchy's massive capital holdings, and its role in maintaining the ideology of the family.
I think that the timing of the wedding and announcement show that consciously and deliberately the state relies on the monarchy to divert attention from the problems facing the working class.
Socialism Britain has to go with the • abolition of the As step towards both, the the Labour Party should call a huge antimonarchy festival on the same day the rova union.
MAX ANDREWS, Manchester
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demands on male power
ROY RUDDITT, West Lon- We need an anti- monarchy festival