Jonathan Swift, a clergyman for the Church of England, addresses social issues in the satirical essay "A Modest Proposal" from 1729, during a time of famine in colonial Ireland which, first appeared anonymously in its own pamphlet in Ireland. Swift's proposal is the rather barbaric and cannibalistic idea of producing children to sell as meat to help poor families out of poverty. Swift meticulously makes use of appeals to logic, emotions, and ethics to back up and support his proposal.
Swift identifies the social problems and states that something should be done about them - fatten up the undernourished babies of the poor and sell them as food to Ireland's rich landowners. These children of the poor could be sold into a meat market at the age of one. Swift states that at the end of one year, a child will weigh about twenty-eight pounds. Swift names six advantages in of his proposal, diminishing the number of Catholics in Ireland, providing assets to the poor, increasing the nation's net-worth, removing the responsibility of child care from families, bringing business to taverns, and encouraging husbands to treat their wives with respect. Swift really means to say that the people of Ireland should begin taxing the English landowners, using only domestic goods, exporting products made in Ireland, treating women with respect, saving money where possible, showing pride in Ireland, acting like countrymen and quit fighting amongst themselves, being cautious of cheaters and liars, teaching landlords mercy towards their tenants and making the business owners behave with honesty and integrity. Swift believes that this "proposal" will do more to solve Ireland's social, political, and economic problems than any others that have been put forth if implemented.
Swift uses the classic appeal to logos in several different manners throughout the pamphlet. One such instance is when Swift states the statistics that go along with his "Proposal.
