The Immorality of Child Labor

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The Immorality of Child Labor

Child labor is a serious moral issue. There have been many controversial debates over whether it should be legal or not. Two different viewpoints on the subject exist. Many argue that child labor is morally wrong and that the children should not work, no matter how poverty stricken their family might be. Advocates and major corporations that support child labor argue that it is good because it gives poverty-stricken families a source of income.

Child labor first appeared with the development of domestic systems (when people became civilized). It was widely practiced in England, America, and other countries during the 16th-18th centuries. Children were paid very little for the dangerous conditions and the long hours they were required to work. Many of these children worked in factories, mills, mines, and other horrible places. Some families sold their children into labor for money to pay off debts. These children worked off the debt and were a source of income for the family.

Today, child labor is illegal in most developed countries. There are strict laws that monitor the jobs, hours, wages, etc. that children have if they do work. An example of these laws, is one that requires all children to go to school until they are 16 years of age before they can drop out and be employed full time. Most third world and under-developed countries are where the majority of child laborers can be found.

Child labor is morally wrong. The children shouldn?t be forced to work.

Most children who work are little more than slaves to their employers. They put up with abuse, starvation, and sometimes never being paid for their work. One eight year-old boy, Munnilal, from Varanasi, I...

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...hould be passed to better the conditions in which they work though.

A. There have been laws passed that limit and reduce the amounts of child labor.

B. Many organizations are working to improve child labor conditions and are succeeding in some cases.

V. Personal Opinion/ Commentary- Children around the world shouldn?t be forced to work at all. They should be given a chance to live their lives.

Bibliography:

Works Cited

Kielburger, Craig. ?It Starts With Me.? Guideposts November 1999

Parker, Dr. David. ?Stolen Dreams: Portraits of Working Children.?

http://www.busph.bu.edu/Gallery/Introp.html 18 December 1999

Cleland, Hugh G. ?Child Labor.? Encyclopedia Americana. 1991 ed.

Holstein, William J. ?Santa?s Sweatshop.? U.S. News and World Report 16 December 1999.

http://www.geocites.com/CollegePark/Library/9175/inquiryl.html

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