Child Labour can be okay, under one condition

Child labour has become synonymous with exploitation, and exploitation when not disguised (e.g. corporate exploitation is sometimes disguised as ‘regular business practice’), is evil.

However, there is one condition whereby child labour would be okay. That condition, however, is not a small one.

It’s if we completely change our understanding and treatment of work in society.

Work in its current form has now become a matter of survival, rather than prosperity. In more traditional non-urban societies, property laws are not strictly enforced and food maybe sourced from surrounding areas with no monetary cost. You could build a small hut and start foraging or fishing.

As we became more dependent on the market for our subsistence and basic necessities, ‘living for free’ started to become a fantasy and phrases like ‘no free lunch’ started to be brainwashed into people’s minds. It’s an ideology that achieved strong footing over time.

If a family wanted more prosperity, they’d start to farm on a larger scale or perhaps engage in crafting. As they are spending time on the commercial activity, they’d use the excess in their returns to spend on the necessities that they lack. Next, they’d spend on nice things, either things are not ‘necessary’ themselves or necessary things but of a nicer quality.

The reason why work if done by children is seen as abhorrent is because we secretly know that working conditions are abhorrent, in general for humans in the current age. The company owes you no sympathy, especially if you’re not performing. They are permitted to resort to whatever measure they see fit as long as it’s not ‘illegal’. They can fire you if you’re too slow, without regarding where you’ll sleep or what you’ll eat the next month.

On the job, you may be under great psychological duress, but this is not the company’s responsibility as it’s all a transaction. Your freedom and labour for a monetary compensation that would go towards funding your existence and comfort on this planet.

If we radically change our view of work into one that is more humanistic, we would not be opposing child labour as much.

In its current form child labour is truly abhorrent, but if we,

• regard work as a channel to increase the prosperity and wellbeing of everyone involved in the activity
• respected people as fellow human beings rather than just assets of a company
• truly understand that commercial activity does not automatically override other human concerns

Then, child labour would just be seen as a sort of apprenticeship where the child will be treated with utmost respect. It can be a more practical form of preparing them for the economy rather the the current outdated education system that isolates them from the real world for the majority of their lives and then suddenly throws them into the market with no actual preparation whatsoever.