A CONDIÇÃO HUMANA DE CRIANÇAS TRABALHADORAS:

UMA ANÁLISE A LUZ DOS ESCRITOS DE MARX E ENGELS

Abstract

The article aims to analyze the issue of child labor in brickworks (tile and brick industries in the municipality of Russas – CE), in the light of Marxian theory. A reality present today, even with public policies to “combat” child labor. These policies, which for the most part, are carried out just to satisfy society, as, in reality, children continue to accompany their parents to perform certain functions in the work within the brickworks. The municipality of Russas is recognized in Ceará as a hub for the production of tiles and bricks, and this product is sold to states in the northeast region. Therefore, thinking about the issues that are part of the mechanism of this production process is of great importance to understand the social relations established in the context presented. News from the newspaper O Povo, published in 2021, denounces the work of children in brickworks in conditions similar to slavery. Thus, the central objective of this article is to bring the exploitation of child labor into a critical perspective through the writings of Marx, Engels and their interpreters to understand how this practice used in the early days of the Industrial Revolution is present and given new meaning in current times.