Modest Proposal and Other Writings

In response to the dire economic conditions in eighteenth-century Ireland, 'A Modest Proposal' ironically exhorts the poor to provide their offspring as food to the rich.

Skilfully applying a wealth of classical rhetorical techniques, Swift's satirical tour de force takes a savage swipe at the selfishness of the ruling classes and the heartlessness of the various utilitarian solutions put forward by contemporary thinkers.