Over 300 Marxist women in the Womeus Liberation Movement met in London for their second conference last weekend. One of the central debates which occupied them, was the issue of the autonomy of tho Womeos Movement. Discussion on this tended to tocus on whether or not dayl" membership is legitimate, when some revolutionary organisations treat the WLM as a recruiting ground. However this is a false cilemma The Overal task of the Movements to develop the self-aclivity of a certain social stratum, ie. particular groops of women, while the task of a resphitionary organisation is to provide polit cal leadership tas destinet from organisational domination). The central question however is autonomy bot from politics or political graups but from the institutions of the capitalist state The question wus asked, why have many of the about the present political conjuncture campaigns, on such issues as child care. Right cleaners unionisation, and family allowances, not gone heyond partial succeas? Lacking any analysis of the strategy of the government towards issues, such as family allowances and nurseries, reforms rend to diffuse the move ment's political energy rather than allowing it to build furtber.
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All proceeds to /MG fund drive. Yet some of the socialist women in the WEM BE allow that movement to he walled off by the male chauvinism presalent in working class organisations, Altbough a number of small breakthroughs have been registered on this front, many socialist women do not yet sce the struggle egator male chauvinism in the workers organisation as a strategie task of the movement As to the future, many of the worksheps show sed an interest in particolar issues. One work shop for example agreed that local groups should take up the issue of rising prices as a means of transforming private battles within the working dass family into a political struggle against the government. But the plenary sossior., discussed only topios for future conferences rather than priorities for action now, and these topics wore not chosen in the light of discussion This does pot simply reflect political disagree ments amongst the revolutionary groups, but the ability of the socialist women to challenge the established reflexes of the movement.
FIONA MOGUINNESS FUND DRIVE LATEST Ii looks as of this month's Red Weakly Fighting Fund will and up very near the mark. With almost a week to go until the and of the month we have received a total of just under E250, Only E50 more to go for our £300 Targee? With just a little extra effort from our readers and supporters we can reach the target this month. So don't hoard your spare change or sit on you cheque books - sand in a donation to the Fighting Fund today and help make the Red Weekly a bettor peper The Chilean crisis has pleced a pig burden on Red Weekly: we must devots planty of spree to wamining the lessons of this grast tragedy, and wa will be in the forafront of the campsign in this country to organise solidarity with the Chilean workars and peasants. That will require even greater mrsources on our part. Part of your intarnational solidarity with the Chilean struggle should be to support the paper that backs that struggle for all its worth Red Week/y. che generous treatment of profits under the Phase 2 regulations. Firms are able to raise their prices in line with increases in their costs (or at least most of them) and so get some semiautomatie prolection for their profit margins. But what has moscly acounted for prufit margins shooling up is not this, but rather the rapid jump in output which lasted from the middle of 1972 until March of this year: chis has allowed productivity to rise and fixed overbead costs to be spread over higher output thus reducing average costs, If this growth in output is not going to continue then the price and profit regulations which have existed In Phase 2 will not be sufficient to increase profit margins any further.
A TOUGH PHASE Yer the capitalists thint for higher profitability is in no way curbed. It would be very dangerous to think that the last nine months of enomou profit increases significantly eases the pressure oD capital and makes it more likely that bigher wage domands will be granted. Too much emphasis on the rocent profits bonanzu can only reduce the preparedness of the working class for the coming intensification of the Tories Tories" attack on its wages and conditions. Phase 3 therefore can be expected to be even tongber on wages than Phase 2, eitber through keeping wages down even more, or through allowing even wider loopholes for raising prices to increase profitability. The sell-out of the struggle against Phase 2 bas only pared the way for the Torles to launeh an even hurder attack That is the lesson for the coming struggle against Michael Price
Out with the old, outmoded, two months old Northern Ireland Assembly, in with the new. dynamie, fifty three year old Council of Ireland! That was the message from Edward Heath and Liam Cosgrave, after their recent But in the White Paper (Murch 1973) the cloud had begun to take on significant dimensions. 'Acoordingly, following the elections to the Northern-Irelind Avombly, Lic overnment