the thesis of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country,. and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public" is that poor parents should raise as many children as possible and sell them for food. Swift isn't actually calling for parents to raise their children for food. Instead, his satirical treatment of the subject criticises the flawed and uncaring attitude of his society toward Ireland's poor.