Figure 1.--American schools promote the idea that capitalism eas responsiblr for child labor amd perpetuated it. In fact, it was in capitalist countries that child labior first became seen as a social ill. And it was in capitalist countries that piblic school systems first developed and ordinary children for the first times did not have to work. It was in non capitalist countries that almost all children still had to work. This Philippine scene is good example. We see Igorot girls gathering sweet potatoes near Bagin, perhaps Baguio on Luzon. Only as capitalism began to reshape the Third World did this situation begin to change.

I learned in school that capitalism was exploitive. There was very little about how capitalism had made America the envy of the world and and at the time the best paid workers un the world. Nor any mention about how the Arsenal of Democracy that defeated the totalitarian Axis power thus saving Western Civilization. What I saw in my history texts was photographs of exploited children working in factories along with emmigrants living in sqalid conditions and having to make their childen work. No where was the obvious question addressed--If conditions were so bad in America, why did all those immigrants come? The idea being promopted was that capitalism created and perpetuated child labor. That was in the 1950s and this same narative is still being perpetuated today. Students can look in their text books and so can parents. The Socialist narative began in America by the Progressive Movement at the end of the 19th century is even more aggresively being promoted in American schools which is part of the reason that the Democrats almost nominated Socialist senator Bernie Sanders and much of the Millenial Genration has a favorable view of Socialism and negative attutudes toward Capitalism. The problem with the negative narative about caopitalism such that it caused child labor is that it simply is not true. In fact, it was capitalism that put an end to child labor. It was only in the Victorian Era with the industrialization made possible by capitalism that child labor began to be seen as a social evil nd Governments began to take action against it. And at the same time the increasing wealth made possible by capital and industry that society could afford public education systems for first time which provided educational opportunities for all children. This part of he historical record is actively suppressed in our schools.

School Narative

I learned in school that capitalism was exploitive. There was very little about how capitalism had made America the envy of the world and and at the time the best paid workers un the world. Nor is there any mention about how the Arsenal of Democracy that defeated the totalitarian Axis power thus saving Western Civilization. What I saw in my history texts was photographs of exploited children working in factories along with emmigrants living in sqalid conditions and having to make their childen work. No where was the obvious question addressed--If conditions were so bad in America, why did all those immigrants come? The idea being promopted was that capitalism created and perpetuated child labor. We would be interested in reader comments. Did their text book or their teachers suggest an alternative narrarive. That was in the 1950s and this same narative continues to be perpetuated today. And there is routinely no effort to compare conditiona at the time wih conditions in other countries, eithere other industrialized countries or non-industrialized countries. Any basic historical asessment would require that. The fact that history text books ignoire such basic principles of historography is shocking. Facebook/Google manipulation of seaech results and news feeds is nothing new. As a result students are left with the impression that America because of capitalism was a uniquely unfair and repressive country.

Political Narative

Cpitalism causung child labor is also the narative promoted by the Liberal Progressive estanlishment. A good example is an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal by Preident Barack Obama. [Obama]

Millenials

Students can look in their text books and so can parents. The Socialist narative began in America by the Progressive Movement at the end of the 19th century is even more aggresively being promoted in American schools which is part of the reason that the Democrats almost nominated Socialist senator Bernie Sanders and much of the Millenial Genration has a favorable view of Socialism and negative attitudes toward Capitalism.

Accuracy

Not only American, but Europen teachers hammer away every day about how Capitalism has begun the explotation of workers and especially women and children from the very beginning in the 18th century. They teach the children who have no point of reference or basic understanding of economic history that the terrible exploitation of children was all the work of unfeeling capitalism. Students are taught that children began to suffer horribly with the adevent of capitalism and industrialzation. Some times teachers add in 'unfettered' capitalism, but usually the villan is just plain old capitalism and the industrialization it ushered in. It of course makes sence to the children because there are the photographs of American and immigrant child workers in their textbooks. But in fact it is simply not an accurate depiction of either capitalism or the industrialization it help usher in.

Creation of child labor

The problem with the negative narative about caopitalism such that it caused child labor is that it simply is not true. What he teachers are presening is both inaccusate and historically invalid. What the teachers eiher forget or chose not to mention is what life was like average workers and their wives and childreb BEFORE capitalism and industrialization. What our teachers are doing are comaring 19th century conditions with modern times. What anyone who pretends to be a a histiory teacher should understand is that is a totally invalid comparison. Any society is going toconme off unfavoravly in such a comparison. The historically valid comparison is to compare 19th century America with 19th century Europe and other areas. Child labor is not a phenomenon that appeared in 19th century Euriope and America with the advent of capitalism and industrisalization. The very idea that capitalism create child is absurd as even the most basic study of history will reveal. It iscastonushub that history teachers of all people would advance such an obvously false narative. Atotomically modern man (Homo sapiens) appeared (about 200,000 BP). But even before this, earlier hominids such as Homo erectus displayed very similar behaviors--nanely hunter gatherer life styles. And here as soon as children grew beyound the todler stage they were involved in the family gathering activuties. Thus for almost all of human children, worked. And with the agricultural revolution this did not change beginning about (10,000 BC). Agriculture made possible the development of civilization. But it did not change the role of children. They contibued to work. Early agricultural methods were labor intensive and inefficient. This ment that vurtually the entire population ware peasants who grew the crops. And here the children beyond the toddler stage worked. We see that in the art of ancient Egypt, one of the few anvient civilizations that saw that children were important enough to depict. The key factor here as that given the labor intensive agriculture mrthis, the labor of thecchildren were needed. There were no schools for children, excepr in the palace and elite, but this was a very small portion of society. We see more schools in ancient Greece and Rome, but these were not public schools and only a small section of soiciety could afford the fees. Most children lived in the coutry side and worked as part of peasant agriculture. There were also large slave populations. And slave children like their parents worked. After the fall of Rome, Europe developed into a Fedual society. And in Feyudal siociety again the children worked. There were no schools. Again the children worked because their labor was needed becuse oif the ineffucent methiods to work the land. The Feudal system was still a strong force (16th century). There was a major peasant rebellion in Germany wth the peasantry resisting their fedual obligations (1530s). This and the Reformtion were some of the forces that lead to the advent of both caoitalism and public schools, first appearing in the German states. The wealth ceated by capitalism and industrilization mean that for the first time, socirty was walthy enough that all children did not need to work and society could finance public schools. So the idea that child labor began with capitalism cklearly has no historical basis.

Rural golden age

When coinfronted with the historical evidence, the crutics of caopitalism will admit thar child labor is not a modern ophenonnonm, but they begin to wax eloquently about a kid of 'golden age' just before the advent of capitalism in Europe. They describe a simple life and harmony and plenty before the Industrial Revolution. This is what the socialist philosophers, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, described. They attacked the 'dehumanizing' factory system that they claimed 'alienated' workers from their labor. Ironically, it would be Socialist regimes that would assault the peasantry and lionize the very factory work that Marx described as dehumanizing. . The idea of a golden age with people living in harmony on great estrates in the country side is a fiction. In fact it sounds very much luke slav holders in he American south describing their happy slaves. One author describes what the reality was. What life was like for the vast majority of the popultion was a very short life, dominated by scarcity and disease. “There was nothing romantic or enviable about a family living and working together in a badly lighted, improperly ventilated and poorly constructed cottage.” [Hessen] The lack of this golden age is demonstable. An agricultural worker could not possibly have a life style above the value of goods or crops is labor priduced. And given thr agricultural technology of the era, that could not have been very great. And on the agicultural estastes there was no opportunity of possibility for advancement. Now it is true, that early factory wages were very low, in fact because early factories were not very efficent. But as low as they were, they were greater than what farm workers were receiving. One author explains that factory even with the early low factory wages "were nonetheless much more than these paupers could earn in any other field open to them. It is a distortion of facts to say that the factories carried off the housewives from the nurseries and the kitchen and the children from their play. These women had nothing to cook with and to feed their children. These children were destitute and starving. Their only refuge was the factory. It saved them in the strictest sense of the term, from death by starvation.” [Von Mises]

Opportunuty

Capitalism and industry created opportunities for the average man. Before the adventb of capitalism, there was little opportunity for ordinary people. Opprtunity was simething that the nobility enjoyed and a few oher individuals such as wealthy merchants. Even in modern times, opportunity was limited. It is one reason why so many Europeans emigrated yo America, because iof the opoportunity afforded by American capitalism. One historian writes at the end of World War II, about the opportunity generated by capitalism, "There are today on the plains of India and China men and women, plague-ridden and hungry, living lives little better, to outward appearance, than those of the cattle that toil with them by day and share their places of sleep at night. Such Asiatic standards, and such unmechanized horrors, are the lot of those who increase their numbers without passing through an industrial revolution." [Ashton]

Socialist development

Socialist authiors like Karl Marx attracted a huge following around the world. And many were impressed by the Soviet Union. Russia had begun to industrialize before World War I and the Soviet Union significntly expanded industry during the inter-War era. That industry was instrumentl in defeating the NAZIs in World War II. Stalin using the NKVD could control the information distrubuted in the West. And what was not made public was the low wages paid Soviet workers. Or the fact that Soviet enteroprises were nit effiucent or profitable. Thus only became apparent when the Soviet Union impoded (1991). Soviet enterprises fior the most part went bankrupt and chad to close. All of this was not known after World War II. As the decolonization process unfolded, most of the new leaders concluded that sovialism was the wave of the future, men like Castro, Ho, Mao, Nehru, Nykruma, Sukarno, Tito, and countless African leasers. They turnd to Socialist statos policies to rapidly develop their economies. The result was economic disaster. They achieved little or no progeess and in many cases the economies actually declined. And such was the ppeal ofsicisalism, you even see men like Chavez turning to socialism even after it was cleae it did not work, achiebing the impossible--bankrupting an oil rich country. Gradually Third World leadrs began to turn to capitalism, often referred to as market reforms. This began with the Asian Tigers (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan). Then China, India, and other countries discarded Socialist systems and turned to Capitalis. The result was that in little over a generation, some one billion people were thrust from bject opoverty to the prosperous nmiddle cckss. Thge impact on students and the iopopirtortunies they now enjoy is inclacuable. One observ writs, "Today, of course, life in India and China is much better than is was half a century ago, precisely because after decades of experimenting with socialism, these states have embraced free-market capitalism instead, if only in part. They have opened their markets to foreign products and investment and allowed the best among them, the innovators and the entrepreneurs, to work and trade in relative freedom. Consequently, all of society prospers." [Ottens]

Ending child labor

In fact, it was capitalism that put an end to child labor. It was only in the Victorian Era with the industrialization made possible by capitalism that child labor began to be seen as a social evil nd Governments began to take action against it. And at the same time the increasing wealth made possible by capital and industry that society could afford public education systems for first time which provided educational opportunities for all children. This part of he historical record is actively suppressed in our schools.

Progressive/Socialist Movement

Communism

European Social Democracy

Sources

Ashton, Thomas Southcliffe. (1948).

Hessen, Robert. "The Effects of the Industrial Revolution on Women and Children,” in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (1966),

Obama, Barack. "Toward a 21st-Century regulatory system," Wall Street Journal (January 18, 2011).

Ottens, Nick. "Did government end child labor," Atlantic Sentinal (January 20, 2011).

Von Mises, Ludwig. In Human Action (1949).

Created: 6:12 PM 8/16/2018
Last updated: 2:43 AM 10/10/2018