How does A Modest Proposal criticize England’s treatment of Ireland?

In his 1729 satirical essay A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift utilizes grim irony and hyperbole to deliver a savage critique of England’s legal and economic exploitation of Ireland.123

Presented under the guise of a rational economic treatise, the essay suggests that the impoverished Irish could improve their dire circumstances by selling their children as food to wealthy English landlords. This outrageous proposition serves as a biting commentary on the indifference of the English government toward the suffering of the Irish people. By framing the consumption of children as a practical solution to overpopulation and poverty, Swift highlights the dehumanizing nature of British policies that treated Ireland as a mere resource to be exploited.123

Swift’s work reflects his broader frustration with the "blindness" of the English administration, which he believed was responsible for Ireland’s backward state. Through this masterpiece of satire, he exposes the moral bankruptcy of a system that prioritized economic gain over human life, effectively symbolizing the extreme consequences of colonial neglect.231