What drastic practice does Jonathan Swift suggest in his satirical work "A Modest Proposal" and why?

Swift's modest proposal was satirical and therefore not to be taken at face value.  "A Modest Proposal" grows out of Swift's furious indignation, his disgust with English oppression and Irish corruption and stupidity.  Swift creates a character the "projector," who analyzes conditions rather than assigning blame for them.  The projector's voice is calm and rational when he suggest poor babies be used as flesh for the starving Irish and therefore improve the economy.  He supposes that one thtousand "families in this city would be constant customers for infants' flesh" and that the infants could also be served at meetings, "particularly weddings and christenings."  It is a exceptionally ironic suggestion that roasted infants would be offered as sustenance for weddings, the union of a man and wife who would plan to start their own family, and at christenings, when babies are baptised.

Swift's proposer (an economist) suggests that Ireland could solve its poverty and overpopulation problems if its poor people would rear children, kill them, and sell them as food.

This satirical work shows Swift's sympathy for Ireland’s poor, oppressed Catholic population, as well as his anger toward wealthy Irish landowners and absentee English landlords, who were gouging Irish peasants with outrageously high land rents. (Note the proposer's statement, "The English are devouring the Irish.") It also demonstrates Swift's frustration with England’s Parliament for not protecting the Irish and with the Irish people for not taking action to solve their own problems.

Swift also mocks a popular theory of British economists of the period: that people constituted the real wealth of a country.

What is the most famous quote from Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal"?

In “A Modest Proposal,” virtually every line of the entire text of the pamphlet is famous. One of the more interesting quotes is “I HAVE been assured by a very knowing American of my Acquaintance in London; that a young healthy Child, well nursed, is, at a Year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome Food; whether Stewed, Roasted, Baked, or Boiled; and, I make no doubt, that it will equally serve in a Fricasie, or Ragoust.” What makes this statement interesting is it does more than many of the other parts of the pamphlet to “sell” the use of children as a source of food; it takes the cookbook approach to the whole idea. The italicization of words is very important for this statement. “Americans,” “London,” and the various forms of preparation are important to the implied meaning of this statement. Americans are seen as the epitome of the mercantile spirit and London is the epicenter of all trade in the British Isles. At the mention of them, the reader knows that Swift’s plan is not just a small scheme, as it involves the greatest trading center and one of the most mercantile of populations. Aside from “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift’s definition of satire is very famous – and quite revealing. “Satyr is a sort of glass through which everyone sees everyone else’s face but their own.” He goes on to suggest that this is the reason it meets with such a pleasant reception among readers.

Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist who is famous for many quotations and works. One of his most famous quotes may be, "A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends; and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter." This quote is from "A Modest Proposal" a satire about eating children to solve the hunger problem. "Gulliver's Travels" is another work by swift with many famous quotes.