A Modest Proposal

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The essay presents a shocking proposal suggesting that impoverished Irish families could alleviate their economic struggles by selling their children as food to the wealthy. Through this extreme satire, Swift critiques the dehumanizing attitudes towards the poor and the British policies affecting Ireland. He employs irony and hyperbole to challenge the rationalism of modern economics, contrasting it with traditional human values. The essay's initial depiction of starvation sets the stage for its outrageous solution, making it a powerful commentary on societal indifference.