A modest proposal

Image source: http://www.luminarium.org/eightlit/swift/

This week we read Johnathan Swift's, A modest proposal. In this text, Jonathan proposes that the "gentlemen" of Ireland circa 1760 eat the fatherless offspring of the whores around belfast. In his essay, he proposes that a mother should nurse her child to a minimum of one year, allowing said child to reach about 20 to 30 pounds. At which time, said mother can sell her child to any gentleman, for up to 7 pounds of Irish coin. This solution for mothers of these bastard children solved many problems of the current time. It saved the mothers from killing thier own children, it saved them from begging for money and clothing and food on the streets. There was also a main focus on a major problem that it would solve, it would end a lot of crime, as most of the crime in belfast was perpetrated by children between the ages of six and fourteen.
I believe that Swift's position on the issue, however outrageous it may seem, is credible. I think that he actually believed that children could be cooked and served for any type of gathering. If you look at the intended audience of the time, he was adressing the upper middle class of Ireland. Durring this time, there wasnt much class structure, you were either middle class, upper class or poor. There was a major crime problem within many of the larger towns creating a major source of stress. There, also, was no form of birth control. For this reason, many of the whores of the town would become begging hags. His simple proposal to consume this form of offspring, which numbered in the hundred's of thousands durring one year, at the time and place, may have seemed logical to the upper and middle classes at the time.
Throughout his proposal, Swift makes valid arguments for the consumption of human meat. I'm still not sure if he is making fun of anything, or if he is onehundred percent seerious about the whole essay. I do know from reading about society in Ireland circa 1760, which you can read here, he is correct about the crime, classes, and social structure, so one could believe this whole senario.