The priceless child talks back: How working children respond to global norms against child labor

Abstract

This article examines how working children understand the morality of child labor. Drawing on interviews with children in Bolivia and Ecuador, I find that children call child labor moral when it helps them manage their social ties. Working children do not think of themselves as individuals needing care (per international organizations like the International Labor Organization) or as a cultural group needing recognition (per the “working children’s movements”). Rather, children describe themselves as morally upright members of intimate networks. I conclude by introducing the concept of relational dignity.