The right of children to work: a kidnapped by law and capitalism adultism hegemonic

Abstract

In this paper  I discuss  and argue  in favour  of children’s  right  to work. Against  the uninformed and biased “common sense”, children have always worked, with normalcy and plainly integrated  into society. The scandal produced  by children’s  work (so-called  “child labour”) appeared only a century ago in the minority world, and not precisely by a concern over the welfare of children as such, but by the mounting pressure of capitalism  and of a growing,  and now hegemonic  adultism,  currently  spread to the rest of the planet by glo- balization.  I engage in the defense of children’s  right to work from the perspective  of the social movements of Working Children and Youth (NNATs), organized in the majority world to f ight for their right to work with dignity. That is, I do it “from below,” considering what work means to children  themselves,  their families  and their communities,  which,  as will be shown,  is very different  from the hegemonic  conception:  children’s  work, the NNATs teach us, may amount to dignity, citizenship  and emancipation.