A modern Propsal
...overty needed but anyone who can come up with a plan to solve it should be honored. He prefaces his scheme with a few advantages that it will provide, such as voluntary abortions being brought to an end as well as the custom of women murdering the children they bear out of wedlock. Next, Swift goes through many calculations to determine the number of children who will be affected by his plan. He finds that one hundred and twenty thousand children are born each year to parents that will be unable to provide for them. After assuring his readers that others have approved his idea such as a friend from America, Swift finally shares his solution. He proposes that of the one hundred and twenty thousand children born into poor families, twenty thousand will be kept for breeding, only one fourth of those being males, while the other hundred thousand shall be sold for about ten pounds to the wealthy to be used for food or clothing. After presenting this idea Swift goes on to provide six additional benefits of eating children. First, the number of Papists will be lessened. Secondly, the underprivileged families will be able to own something of value to help pay their rent. Next, the country’s economy will greatly profit because of the heightened consumption of goods from their own country. Also, not only will the breeder’s family gain a substantial profit from selling the children, but they also are released of the responsibility of taking care of them after only a year. A child’s flesh will also provide new tasty dishes that will increase business in many taverns. Finally, this practice will encourage marriage among couples and discourage abuse of the woman for fear of miscarriage. Swift then challenges anyone who opposes his plan to come up with an idea that will find food for one ...