Panels on China, USSR among socialist conference highlights

Scan page 7

Conference participants in front of a memorial dedicated to the four students killed at Kent State by Ohio National Guardsmen during 1970 antiwar protest.

SOCIALIST ACTION SEPTEMBER 1989 7 Radicalized women are not about to go out and vote for conservative legislators who may happen to be pro-choice. But it's hard to predict at this time how successful the leadership will be in corralling the pro-choice sentiment into capitalist politics.

Keeping the movement for abortion rights independent of the capitalist parties will be a central issue in the months to come. The Nov. 12 action takes on added importance given the possibility that NOW will join with other pro-choice groups on an electoral focus as the 1990 elections draw nearer. Unfortunately, we can expect the electoral focus to dominate the speakers' platform on Nov. 12.

The NOW leadership is also concerned about their ability to carry out the "single issue" electoral focus in the framework of the Democratic Party. There was a strong sentiment for independent political action at the national NOW conference in Cincinnati.

One of the most interesting aspects of the conference was the number of women who were Democratic Party activists who were angry about how ineffective such work inside the party had been in terms of protecting or promoting women's rights.

A workshop called to explore the possibility of launching a new party committed to the feminist agenda was packed with people. It was at this workshop that Socialist Action columnist Sylvia Weinstein got a rousing standing ovation (and subsequently was quoted in several major newspapers) when she explained how women have succeeded in winning rights in the pastthrough independent mass action-and how Eighty members and friends of Socialist Action attended a four-day educational.conference at Kent State University, Ohio, on Aug. 3-6. The conference was preceded by a meeting of the Socialist Action national committee, the organization's elected leadership body.

At the conference, Socialist Action activists reported on their work in the women's. liberation movement in defending abortion rights at women's health clinics and helping to organize marches and rallies.

Panels were organized to discuss the historic events in China and the USSR. The audience heard presentations by Socialist Action members who recently toured these countries. A national speaking tour by several of the panelists is planned for the fall.

Long-time socialists and new activists alike attended classes on Marxist economics, dialectical materialism, and Marxism and feminism. Transcriptions of several of these lectures will be published in Socialist Action in the coming months. Shirley Pasholk's talk on "Marxism and Feminism" appears on pages 9 - 12 of this month's issue.

Conference participants active in union struggles exchanged information and experiences at organized workshops.

Socialist Action branches around the country reported on planned activities in their cities: Public forums on topics of interest are held in several cities each month. Classes on Marxist theory and practice are also being arranged. Look at the directory on page 19 to find out how to get in touch with the Socialist Action branch nearest you.

Socialist Action members and supporters at the Kent State conference launched a threemonth $20,000 fund drive to finance several new publishing projects. The drive will also help defray the expenses of the upcoming 11city tour of socialists reporting back from the Soviet Union.

The Fund Drive ends on Dec. 1, 1989. So•cialist Action readers are requested to send donations to 3435 Army St., Rm. 308, San Francisco, CA 94110.

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