Appropriate or Commiserate? Johnathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal"

Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is unreasonable for obvious reasons. It is exorbitant! It is preposterous! It is monstrous for god sakes! Yes, just the thought of consuming human flesh is enough to make the average Joe's stomach churn with disgust. The idea of stewing, roasting, baking, boiling, fricasseeing an infant may very well seem asinine at a glance, and though it is quite devoid of all morals, the logic in it is much too …showed first 75 words of 422 total…

…showed last 75 words of 422 total…that can be traded or sold. In the twenty-first century it seems ludicrous to open a market where human beings are treated as a commodity, yet in the eighteenth century when this "proposal" was penned human slaves were openly traded and sold. Is it too far-fetched to think that someday this very notion could offer an antiphon to poverty, famine, war, terrorism... corporations? Both reasonable and unreasonable, "A Modest Proposal" is definitely one to ponder.