Efficiency

"Using the readings, what would an efficient outcome is the most efficient way to achieve a desired goal on the policy issues you care about? What would an efficient outcome look like? What would be the best way of achieving an efficient outcome? The market or the polis?"

While we are inclined to look for the most efficient solution to any problem, we must remember that Child Domestic Labor is a complex issue which requires a detailed action plan to end it. With this issue, there are many factors that must be addressed simultaneously, such as poverty, prosecution of the "employer", education of the child, and finding steady and fair employment for minors of working age-- just to name a few. This, in essence, requires a worldwide movement to improving living standards of the children of every country. First, let's look at the definition of efficiency:

"ef-fi-cien-cy:

–noun, plural -cies.
1.
the state or quality of being efficient; competency in performance.
2.
accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort: The assembly line increased industry's efficiency.
3.
the ratio of the work done or energy developed by a machine, engine, etc., to the energy supplied to it, usually expressed as a percentage."

(courtesy of http://dictionary.reference.com/)

Examining the second definition of efficiency, which is considered the political definition of efficiency, we can conclude that the most efficient outcome would be that which accomplishes our goal in the least amount of time and effort. This is quite a difficult task to accomplish with such a complex issue, right? One group that aims to do this is The Global March Against Child Labour. The Global March works to develop high public awareness of the struggle of these children, and works with governments to dissolve child labor. The Global March regularly conducts activities educating the public, including events, advocacy, meetings and campaigns. Probably, one of the most effective ways Global March works against child labor is its alliance with organizations such as the ILO, Child Labor Coalition (CLC), Global Task Force on Child Labour and Education, etc. Generally, the most crucial part of human rights advocacy is the number of people involved-- the more people, the better. Take for example, the women's rights movement in the United States was most successful once it built up its resevoir of supporters. In this example, women had little to no say in anything; however, there voices accumulated into one voice that could not be ignored. Perhaps, voices coming together to send out on single message is a crucial part to solving any human rights issues; afterall, we see the same happen with black people during Martin Luther King, Jr.'s time. Plus, with all of its organizations involved, Global March has different groups working on different aspects of the issue. While it is difficult to come up with an eficient outcome, the best that we can do is spread the word and assign different groups and issues to specific parts of an issue. While a few years old, a great source on Global March's activities is Report of Activities and Outcomes (April 2006-September 2006) which can be found at: http://www.globalmarch.org/resourcecentre/PHotos/GMACLNarrative06.pdf.

Focusing on one aspect of this issue, we can efficiently educate people about child labor through email messages, ads in the newspapers and online, tell our friends and families, organize local events, and create websites, etc. There are so many ways we can spread the information, and it is most efficient if we use multiple sources to let others know. Plus, with the increased awareness, we could reach those who have the compassion and ability to make change; thus; it could lead to a quicker response! Using the polis, we can persuade the public to realize that we need everyone's help by suggesting what it would feel like if they knew that their own children were subject to such exploitation and questioning them about how they would react... And, when they mention how upset they would be and that they would do anything in their power to end it, we would challenge them by asking, "If you wouldn't let this happen to your child, why do you let it happen to someone else's child? What if you were the mother or father who couldn't do anything about it? Wouldn't you want someone to step in?" By challenging the public, we give the message that by not taking action they are, in fact, negatively affecting the welfare of the public as a whole. Also, in challenging the public, we fill them with the concern about the possibility of being in the shoes of the child's parents. Therefore, we must educate and trigger the emotions of the public to achieve an efficient outcome.