What we talk about when we talk about child labor: Policy, polarization, and the new social value of children

• In Event: 40429 - Immigration and Child Labor

Abstract

In her seminal work, Pricing the Priceless Child, Viviana Zelizer shows how in the early 20th
century children acquired new social value, leading reformers to institute laws and policies
against child labor. Today, however, child labor has once again become a topic of heated
contestation. Some states are expanding their protections for children, while others are rolling
back child labor laws. Why? Some scholars point to political polarization. Others to a right-wing
backlash to immigration. This paper adds a third related explanation: today, the social value of
children has changed. Using large language models to analyze media, social media, and political
speeches on child labor, I show how current debates are shaped by actors’ political
commitments, moral epistemologies, and underlying conceptions of worth. I argue that new
understandings of childhood are tied to cultural narratives on immigration, with implications for
research, policy, and activism going forward.

Author

• Isabel Jijon, Harvard University