Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1992, Page 4
activists talked openly about the true nature of their organization’s leadership, of their work
together, and of the effects both on the participants and on those around them.
The Workers Democratic Union was a feminist, Marxist-Leninist party, founded and led by
women. Its members were highly dedicated, hardworking, intelligent women and men. Of
those present for this final vote, ages ranged from mid-twenties to early seventies most had
some college education, with numerous undergraduate degrees, several Ph.D.’s, and a few
medical doctors and lawyers class backgrounds varied from lower working class to those of
extreme wealth the racial composition was overwhelmingly white, with but a handful of
African-American, Hispanic, and Asian members.
At its peak membership, the WDU claimed about five hundred members, with several
thousand supporters in its orbit, including influential and well-known intellectuals,
professionals, and politicians. Despite sporadic periods of growth in membership, the party’s
core of full-time cadre never exceeded 125 and was a group that remained more or less
constant. Interestingly, most of these cadres joined during the years following the WDU’s
founding (1975-1978), which proved to be the period of the most intense study and
indoctrination. It is these same people who comprised the vast majority of those present for
the group’s dissolution in late 1985.
The dissolution meetings were precipitated by frank discussions within the current leadership
body, or inner circle, during the absence of the leader. After mutual acknowledgment of the
state of affairs within the organization, these leading cadres called together the membership
in San Francisco, the locale of the WDU’s headquarters and therefore of the largest body of
members. One by one leadership figures presented the behind-the-scenes reality of the WDU,
exposing in no uncertain terms the corrupt and abusive nature of their until-then adored
leader, Doreen Baxter. Unprecedented meetings soon included all members called in from
party offices around the country, as well as some former members who had been expelled
over the years. Shock, dismay, disbelief, revulsion, sorrow, anger --emotional trauma of
every sort spread throughout this group of dedicated political activists as they heard an array
of chilling accounts from one another. Overnight a dream was shattered.
During these meetings WDU members came to see that their commitment had been
manipulated, abused, and distorted their leader was alcoholic, arbitrary, and without
accountability and, as a result, their organization was politically bankrupt. Some members
haltingly spoke of it as a cult experience others saw it as an aberration of Marxism-Leninism
yet others were too stunned by the onslaught of information to venture any analysis
whatsoever.
A Cult of the 1970s
The purpose of this paper is to examine certain questions in relation to the Workers
Democratic Union. These are (1) how did such a group come into existence (2) how did the
group via its leadership come to dominate its members in such a totalistic fashion and (3)
why, after almost 12 years of existence, did it fall apart?
Recent work by those who specialize in the study of cults, or cultic experiences, has shown
the necessity of looking at all groups on a continuum and then using an ethical standard in
judging a particular group’s behavior. In their very clarifying and practical study, Lisman and
Tanenhaus (1988), in an effort to help counteract the buzz-word effect of the cult label, state:
Every group by its nature will exhibit some degree of restrictiveness and fall on the
continuum from benign to destructive and totalistic. The degree, depth, and intensity
of thought reform techniques, unethical rationale and behavior, and the range of
destructive effects are all factors in the assessment of groups. (p. 54)
activists talked openly about the true nature of their organization’s leadership, of their work
together, and of the effects both on the participants and on those around them.
The Workers Democratic Union was a feminist, Marxist-Leninist party, founded and led by
women. Its members were highly dedicated, hardworking, intelligent women and men. Of
those present for this final vote, ages ranged from mid-twenties to early seventies most had
some college education, with numerous undergraduate degrees, several Ph.D.’s, and a few
medical doctors and lawyers class backgrounds varied from lower working class to those of
extreme wealth the racial composition was overwhelmingly white, with but a handful of
African-American, Hispanic, and Asian members.
At its peak membership, the WDU claimed about five hundred members, with several
thousand supporters in its orbit, including influential and well-known intellectuals,
professionals, and politicians. Despite sporadic periods of growth in membership, the party’s
core of full-time cadre never exceeded 125 and was a group that remained more or less
constant. Interestingly, most of these cadres joined during the years following the WDU’s
founding (1975-1978), which proved to be the period of the most intense study and
indoctrination. It is these same people who comprised the vast majority of those present for
the group’s dissolution in late 1985.
The dissolution meetings were precipitated by frank discussions within the current leadership
body, or inner circle, during the absence of the leader. After mutual acknowledgment of the
state of affairs within the organization, these leading cadres called together the membership
in San Francisco, the locale of the WDU’s headquarters and therefore of the largest body of
members. One by one leadership figures presented the behind-the-scenes reality of the WDU,
exposing in no uncertain terms the corrupt and abusive nature of their until-then adored
leader, Doreen Baxter. Unprecedented meetings soon included all members called in from
party offices around the country, as well as some former members who had been expelled
over the years. Shock, dismay, disbelief, revulsion, sorrow, anger --emotional trauma of
every sort spread throughout this group of dedicated political activists as they heard an array
of chilling accounts from one another. Overnight a dream was shattered.
During these meetings WDU members came to see that their commitment had been
manipulated, abused, and distorted their leader was alcoholic, arbitrary, and without
accountability and, as a result, their organization was politically bankrupt. Some members
haltingly spoke of it as a cult experience others saw it as an aberration of Marxism-Leninism
yet others were too stunned by the onslaught of information to venture any analysis
whatsoever.
A Cult of the 1970s
The purpose of this paper is to examine certain questions in relation to the Workers
Democratic Union. These are (1) how did such a group come into existence (2) how did the
group via its leadership come to dominate its members in such a totalistic fashion and (3)
why, after almost 12 years of existence, did it fall apart?
Recent work by those who specialize in the study of cults, or cultic experiences, has shown
the necessity of looking at all groups on a continuum and then using an ethical standard in
judging a particular group’s behavior. In their very clarifying and practical study, Lisman and
Tanenhaus (1988), in an effort to help counteract the buzz-word effect of the cult label, state:
Every group by its nature will exhibit some degree of restrictiveness and fall on the
continuum from benign to destructive and totalistic. The degree, depth, and intensity
of thought reform techniques, unethical rationale and behavior, and the range of
destructive effects are all factors in the assessment of groups. (p. 54)
