Description
A Modern Proposal is a satirical essay written by the Anglo-Irish satirist and political pamphleteer Jonathan Swift. The essay, published anonymously in 1729, is a lampoon of the seemingly dispassionate and heartless social engineering and economic solutions of some people at that time. Swift suggests that, instead of having the children of the impoverished representing a burden to their parents and the country, they might as well be sold as food to the rich people. The satire is seen as being critical to the general British attitude towards the poor, as well as the policy towards Ireland. In an effort to ridicule the popular social engineering solutions by followers of Francis Bacon, Swift goes to great lengths in arguing for the social and economic benefits of selling children of the poor to rich gentlemen and ladies. He goes on to describe various cooking methods for children, including stewing, roasting, boiling or baking. The hyperbole mocks how the English authorities and rich people in general view the impoverished as well as illogical schemes and economic solutions such as running the poor through a joint-stock company. Following the tradition of Juvenalian Roman satire, the author also introduces some possible reforms through the use of paralipsis. Swifts main target was the so-called entrepreneurial spirit of some people of the time, who came up with ridiculous schemes which would cure economic and social ills. A Modest Proposal has become an allusion to straight-faced satire following this particular style. Swifts work is being read and studied by academics and social experts alike, and even regular readers will find great value in A Modest Proposal – of how not to attempt to deal with social issues.