The Political Economy of Childhood

THEPOLITICAL ECONOMY

OF CHILDHOOD

“who owns children?”children’s legal & political rights

children’s work

children as consumers

“the universal childhood”

cultural &structural approaches to

childhood

topic six:

‘childhood’ as a cultural form

kids are rude

immoral

lazy & greedy

stupid

at-risk

‘childhood’ as a structural form

a political economy approach to childhood

powerrelations

political public policy

laws

economicproduction,

distribution, and consumption

economics

cultural political/economic

adapted from jason hart

values, attitudes, patterns of behavior – and the effect these have on

children’s lives

human relations and interactions

local, micro-level

political/economic forces that produce and reproduce the

material conditions of children’s lives

institutions and their workings

national/global or macro-level

cultural political/economic

adapted from jason hart

Why are there low rates of enrollment and participation in schooling in some countries?

cultural reasons structural reasons (e.g. political economic)

adapted from jason hart

“We cling to a fantasy that once upon a time childhood and youth were years of

carefree adventure…The notion of a long childhood, devoted to education

and free from adult responsibilities, is a very recent invention, and one that became a reality for a majority of children only after World War II.”

– Steven Mintz, Huck’s Raft

why do we need a political-economic

focus on children’s lives?

who owns children?

children’s legal rights

children’s work

children as consumers

children’s legal rights

children’s work

children as consumers

parents society

children are dependent

parents bear economic responsibility for

children’s physical needs

autonomy over house and household

future members of society and polity

intervention on labor and education issues

funding for social programs depends on

economic interpretations

parents society

children’s legal rights

children’s work

children as consumers

children’s work

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE END OF CHILD FACTORY WORK:

development of universal, compulsory education

technological advances in machinery

unionization of labour, which led to higher wages – enough for a

“breadwinner”to support a family

Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE CONTINUATION OF CHILD

FACTORY WORK IN THE SOUTH:

lack of technological advance due to role of ‘global South’ in the global

economy (i.e. source of cheap labour)

effect of free trade rules that prevent growth of indigenous industries in

‘global South’

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE CONTINUATION OF CHILD

FACTORY WORK IN THE SOUTH:

lack of social mobility for poor children who remain in school

banning or constraint of trade unions

acceptance of child factory work

combatting...

child labouror

poverty?

children’s legal rights

children’s work

children as consumers

the construction of the child consumer

“These experiences have the advantage also of creating in the child a sense of

personal, as well as family, pride in ownership, and eventually teaching him that his personality can be expressed

through things.”

– White House, 1931

is there such a thing as a universal childhood?

Industrialized Countries

(United States, Europe)

Working Class Middle Class

Daily Reality

Common (Mis-)perceptions

BASIS FOR UNIVERSAL

CHILDHOOD

Peripheral Countries

(Latin America, Asia)

Working ClassPeasants

Middle ClassIndustrialists

Daily Reality

Common (Mis-)perceptions

Emulates Universal

(American) Childhood

Children of the World

contexts of children’s daily lives

familycommunityschoolworkmedia

universal childhood?

Childhood is socially constructed as a consequence of children’s and adult’s

political-economic activities across different historical periods and

cultural variables – yielding a range and variety of “childhoods”, rather

than a universal phenomenon.

A universal culture of capitalism and consumerism.

“The world seen from the point of view of the consumer is very

different from the world as seen from the perspective of worker,

capitalist, or people of other cultures around the world.”

– Richard Robbins Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism

“who owns children?”children’s legal & political rights

children’s work

children as consumers

“the universal childhood”