Every developed nation on the face of the earth has its own history with child labor.
Today, over 120,000,000 children are fully at work world-wide. That number equals the total number of adults employed in the United States. Twice that many children under 14 work at least part-time. Children endure some of the most brutal working conditions known to mankind.
When will we ever learn?
Child labor, like slavery and other forms of forced labor, is illegal
almost everywhere.
Most people (even those who are experts in labor relations, human resources,
and labor economics)
assume that it occurs only under extreme and isolated conditions. Those
who know otherwise, and speak about
widespread exploitation of children, are prone to be viewed as kooks,
cranks, or zealots.
To illustrate, view this excerpt of a discussion
on the Industrial Relations Research Association's listserve.