A Modest Proposal / For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick

Jonathan Swift

• Humour
• Book language: English
• 9 pages

A Modest Proposal is a short satirical essay by Jonathan Swift, published in 1729. In a calm, mock-serious voice, it proposes an outrageous economic solution to poverty in Ireland. It is a famous example of sustained irony and a sharp critique of indifference to the poor.

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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).

Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.