ABSTRACT
As Wagg and Pilcher note in the introduction to this volume, there is a contradiction which runs through Conservatism’s attitude towards children between the values of ‘social conservatism’ and neoliberalism. This contradiction is especially apparent on the issue of child labour as is revealed in the quotations from Emma Nicholson and Roger Scruton. On the one hand,
neoliberals like Scruton have an overarching commitment to the market and believe any government interference with market mechanisms can produce disequilibrium and inefficiencies. The government, therefore, should not introduce barriers which may prevent employers from utilizing whatever types and forms of labour they wish to engage. Markets should determine the price of labour and the conditions of work on offer: providing there are people willing to be employed in such circumstances then politicians should keep well away. In this interpretation, children, like other groups of marginal workers, should be free to enter the labour market and undertake whatever types of work they find available to them. As Scruton acknowledges, the jobs may be unskilled and poorly paid, but they would, in his view, nevertheless bring moral responsibility and independence.
