A Modest Proposal Add a review

A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick, commonly referred to simply as A Modest Proposal, is a 1729 Juvenalian satirical essay by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift. The essay suggests that poor people in Ireland could ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food to the elite. In English writing, the phrase "a modest proposal" is now conventionally an allusion to this style of deadpan satire.

Swift's use of satirical hyperbole was intended to mock the hostile attitudes towards the poor, anti-Catholicism among the Protestant Ascendancy, and the Dublin Castle administration's governing policies in general. In essence, Swift wrote the essay primarily to highlight the dehumanising approach towards the Irish poor by both the British government and the wealthy landowners, repeatedly mocking their indifference and exploitative behavior. This satirical tone underlines the absurdity of treating poor people like common commodities and products, and exposes the shortcomings of the high society's morality. The essay also narrates the harsh colonial rule of Great Britain over Ireland during Swift's time, the abusive practices of wealthy people, especially government officials, and the inaction of the Irish people themselves in addressing their own problems.

The work is one of Swift's most acclaimed essays, and is noted for its wit, satire and dark humor. The themes of social injustice, exploitation of the poor, widespread poverty, and the dehumanisation of the lower social class explored in the essay remain relevant in contemporary discussions about social justice and human rights.