A Modest Proposal In 1729, a man named Jonathan Swift anonymously published an article with the full title A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public (or A Modest Proposal for short). Swift starts out in a very reasonable manner, highlighting some issues plaguing what was, at the time, a very poverty-stricken and exploited Ireland full of homeless and beggars. After such a great start, though, he suddenly takes a hard left by suggesting that the poor of Ireland sell their children to the rich ruling class of England - to be eaten! Hey, Mr. Swift, news flash: That proposal isn't very modest at all! Wouldn't it be better for the Irish poor to sell other things like their furniture or jewelry? In fact, it seems like the best thing would be for them to stop being lazy beggars and go out and get jobs. Then they could worry about what to feed their children, not who to feed their children to! It's nice that Swift was concerned with the plight of the poor, but we feel like he skipped over a lot of viable options when he jumped straight to the child-eating.
