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| Knowing how profitable child labor still is in under-developed nations like Mozambique (top), Republicans would like to bring America and the rest of the developed world back to the days of forced child labor. Top: Child Laborers working on a farm in Serra Choa, Mozambique, 2007 (Photo by Ton Rulkens); Bottom: Child Laborers working in a coal mind in Pittsburgh, United States, 1911. (Photo by Lewis Hine) |
By Joan Walsh
Republicans no longer accept that it was government intervention in the economy, first in the Progressive era and then, more forcefully, after the Great Depression, that created the greatest economic boom and the biggest middle class in history. The 40-hour work week. The weekend. Vacations. Child labor laws. The minimum wage. Social Security. Health and safety protection. All of these represented government intervention on the side of working people, to balance the playing field with exploitative employers, and to carve out a realm of family and personal life that could be protected from ceaseless labor. Progressive public policy essentially created childhood, as a time when kids who weren’t wealthy might be educated and protected from labor abuse.
These became bipartisan values, with some debating around the margins, through Richard Nixon’s administration. But then a pro-business backlash put all of those gains back on the table. Republicans are now trying to repeal the 20th century.
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