Jonathan Swift's proposal essay, "A Modest Proposal," is without a doubt one of the most flagrant disregards for human compassion that I've ever laid my eyes on and actually taken the time to read. However, technically speaking, his alternative to feed the populace and create a new job market for an economy seems as if it might actually work.
Structurally he lays out the problem very specifically, giving visuals of the masses of vagabond children following the beggar women. After defining the problem, he continues to give details that will make his proposal seem even more reasonable, by considering the uselessness of children. Afterwards, he "humbly propose[s his] own thoughts" to the audience. He begins by creating a simple paragraph explaining the solution and a small bit of its viability. Afterwards, his elaboration continues into making it seem more viable until you get the idea of the possibility of this being a solution. Afterwards he lists out his main focus points in a very straightforward way as to reiterate much of the viability and logistics of the solution. Finally he wraps up the piece by referring to how severe the problem is and how "obviously" the solution will work to solve the problem.
His evidence manages to highly support the truth of the problem as well as his solution. While the data and numbers outright seem to only point at aiding the solution, giving numbers about families and marketing, it also has a strong second meaning that tells the tale of the state of Ireland at the time. While he mentions the massive amounts of families, it in turn gives rise to the numbers of people who need help and are not receiving it through the government. Without a doubt, satirical data seems as if it would be hard to gather, considering you need something that can tell the numbers to support two things at once, both the inward problem and the outward solution.
His supporting points are laid out to give an excellent viability to enacting the solution. His main points are laid out very straightforwardly at one point, as he lists them in order. His first point takes a hit towards the religion at the time, while also trying to make the reader see the religious success. His second, third, and fourth points all tend to point out the state of the citizens of Ireland and the poor shabby lives they lead that would actually somehow make this solution a viable option. His fifth point is a bit hard to understand, but it seems like it may be taking a crack at the upper class who would enjoy the finer recipes on how to eat the delicacies.
The piece is effective in that it explains a viable solution to fix a severe problem. The piece works because it does its real job by explaining the state of the problem and what the people are feeling. Perhaps they wouldn't feel like eating babies, but that's the point. While it's obvious that they wouldn't eat babies, at least I hope it was..., the real problem is well laid out and explained through the solution. His apparent tone, in which he so matter-of-factly states that they should eat babies, really shows his lack of care for the current solutions being; or maybe better stated, not being; enacted. His tone mocks the government for being unable to find a solution better than his own and expects that the government should enact his plan because apparently they are unable to come up with a viable solution on their own.