Johnathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is a work of satire in which Swift suggests, as a solution to the problem of famine in Ireland, that the starving Irish should eat their babies. This, he states, is a way to cope with the problem of both hunger and overpopulation. Swift makes deliberate use of hyperbole throughout his essay. He uses some of the most common, racist criticisms about the Irish leveled by the English, such as the fact that the Irish have too many children, and takes these arguments to their logical, murderous conclusions. Swift's essay is so effective because he actually discusses the practical details of what he ironically calls his modest proposal. He notes that a baby can live for at least a year on its mother's milk and thus not require anything from Ireland's dwindling food supply. This makes babies much more ideal to eat for the poor than other types of animals that require more careful animal husbandry. Swift notes from an ethical standpoint that many people object to abortion on principle, despite Ireland's overpopulation....

This makes abortion less necessary, given that people will want to eat.
In this hyperbole, of course, is an implied criticism of the pious moralists who do not really care about the Irish famine: those who condemn abortion, for example, but who do nothing substantive about the real suffering of Irish children once they are born. Swift notes that far from offering aid, the English have overtaxed the Irish and continue to exploit them, even while their conditions continue to worsen. In fact, with bitter humor, he notes that many Irish would likely wish themselves dead and prefer that they had been used for food while infants. "I desire those politicians who dislike my overture, and may perhaps be so bold to attempt an answer, that they will first ask the parents of these mortals, whether they would not at this day think it a great happiness to have been sold for food at a year old, in the manner I prescribe, and thereby have avoided such a perpetual scene of misfortunes" he states.

What is perhaps most striking about "A Modest Proposal" is the extent to which common accusations leveled at the poor, such as the fact that they have too many children and are responsible for their condition, are similar to the same arguments leveled against impoverished people today. Swift's solution is designed…