Lots of what we're doing right now is luxury earned by our current level of development. It's nice to find an emotional example like maimed children, but if you tried to run 19 century industry with all of today's regulations and benefits, you's simply fail.

And from that we go to "was _this_ particular thing really necessary?", which doesn't really change the main argument. Sure, they could've done without maimed children. Add 8 hour workday, weekends, maternity leave, minimum wages, social security, pensions, health care and pretty much all the things we take so much for granted I can't even think of them. Like I said, it's about wealth - some things you can afford as a country when you're US and some you don't when you're Moldova or Albania, not to mention Congo.