Read & Co. Great Essays presents this brand new edition of Jonathan Swift's satirical essay, "A Modest Proposal" (1729). Referring to the worsening state of poverty amongst families and children in Ireland at the time, SwiftтАЩs proposal is to solve the problem by feeding the children of the poor to the rich. Throughout the text he uses statistics, data, and various methods тАУ including recipes тАУ to evidence the economic viability of his suggestion. The essay was received with humour, yet SwiftтАЩs powerful critique of social welfare and political injustice is clear. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was a prolific writer, poet and political pamphleteer, born into the Anglo-Irish ruling class. He is most remembered for his scathing satirical style and other famous works: тАЬA Tale of a TubтАЭ (1704) and тАЬGulliverтАЩs TravelsтАЭ (1726).