The tyranny of structurelessness

One of the most intriguing articles I have read so far is this one. Written for the collection called Radical Feminism in the 1970's, it is fascinating how many feminists did not read it. Here is a summary and a link for anyone who wants to read it.

It suggests that the idea of a group without leadership or structure might be appealing, but in fact simply masks power, it does not actually distribute it. What do you think?

Blessings,
Bethan


The tyranny of structurelessness. In A. Koedt, E. Levine & A. Rapone (Eds.), Radical feminism (pp. 285-299). New York: Quadrangle Books.

Freeman explodes the myth of so-called “structureless” groups. She asserts that such groups are not useful for anything but conscious-raising, or chat groups. When such groups want to change their task, they also need to change their structure. She challenges the very notion of “structureless” groups, and asserts that only formal structures, not informal ones, can be prevented. She shows how these groups do not eliminate power relationships, but simply mask them. For true shared participation to occur, “structure needs to be explicit and not implicit.” (Freeman, 1973, pg. 287) She dissects such issues as “elitism”, the “star system” problem, and the political impotence of “unstructured groups”, and offers some essential principles that are essential to democratic structuring and politically effectiveness.

http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/hist_texts/structurelessness.html