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development of goals and strategies takes place in YS/LSA. Yet, the
purpose of a workshop is to enlarge the understanding, knowledge and
capacity for thinking of all the participants as well as to plan actio:

The Caucus has been defined by the YS/LSA as a priority because 1
is a group which they see as having the potential for becoming & Mass
movement and it is their "‘duty" to provide revolutionary leadership fo
that movement. They define the limits of the Caucus, They believe
we should not develop into a strong, independent movement which can ex
plain the total exploitation of women and give women the tools to
analyse the world around them. :

Their claim to be the defenders of demo racy in Women's Caucus is
hypocritical They do not in fact respect majority decisions in théir
work in other organizations. Some of us had the experience of parti-
cipating in an anti-war conference called to plan an action; the con-=
ference decided on an anti-imperialist action; the LSA, defeated, ig-
nored the decision and proceeded as if the conference had never happen
Their attitude to the Women's Caucus June strategy conference, where
they were defeated after considerable discussion, is to assert that th.
conference only began the discussion on the two strategies (see their
newspaper, Labor Challenge). When they are defeated, if they control
the organizational apparatus, they ignore the vote; if they don't,
they continually re-argue the position.

DEMOCRACY: THE ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEMS IN WMEN'S CAUCUS

In defense of their decision-making outside VWC, members of YS/LS.
point out that en ideal decision-making process does not exist in VWC.
The claim is made that another "tight little clique" keeps careful
control of the organization and that new women find it very hard to
become involved. To some extent, this is a valid criticism. We need
structures where criticisms or debate can be meaningfully aired and
where misuses of influence can be challenged. Also, weans of integrat
ing new women and communicating with each other are minimal. The solu
tion of these problems should be the major internal priority of VWC
in the next period.

But the YS/LSA's proposals are not solutions at all. They call
for a more centralized organization, rather than a decentralized one.
They want an elected executive in Women's Caucus, they want general
meetings to have vetos over workshops, centralized policy (made at
Good meetings) for workshops, elected editorial board for the

eaestale

This kind of structure can only formalize and strengthen cliques.
A small group of people, "the elected leadership,” are expected to pla;
specific roles (spokeswomen, communi cations, decision-making), This
leaés to a static situation between elections; the organization is les:
flexible and growth is more difficult (there is no reason to presume
that women who will lead important struggles 6 months from now are
even members of Women's Caucus now). It formalizes advantages (inform
tion control etc.) that "leaders" have over members. It leads toa
sterile competition between us for posts and the power and prestige
that go with them.

Clique domination results when a small group shares information a:
experience, not shared by the organization as a whole, so that they fi1