Seminar on Jonathon Swift ( and a little bit of Smith)

Unfortunately the seminar was cut short because our room was booked out to someone, so we didn't get much done, but here's what we did discuss!

Jonathon Swift was a very contraversial Irish satirist, from the ruling classes with a strong moral centre (contrary to what you may think on first reading of "A Modest Proposal"). During much of his life he was a politician before he began pamphleteering to spread ideas regarding the state of Irish society. Although he was well educated, he wrote in much more straight forward language than many around at the time, so that less educated people could also read it and to ensure that the ideas and debate spread throughout society. He was clearly not writing for intellectuals alone, as they would not exactly have been keen on his satire. Granted, some intellectuals and members of the reading population would have sympathised with his viewpoint, but there would also have been people who would have seen it as sarcastic and petty and not of great importance.

This very fact reflects what he was writing about; a very structured society in which the ordinary people, and the Irish in general, did not have a voice or any say in what happened to the country. At the time, all the power was in the hands of the English, especially those that owned land in Ireland but did not even live there for most of the year. In "A Modest Proposal" Swift tackled this problem with the social structure through his satire, wit and irony. The extended metaphor poked fun at those in power, especially political economists such as Adam Smith. Swift also used paradoxes, such as in the title, and blunt language to add shock factor. The style of the piece also enhances this as it says that poor babies should be eaten in such a matter-of-fact tone of voice, even though this is a truly shocking suggestion. Using this shock method, Swift is trying to stir the waters and force some kind of reform in Ireland. He is pointing out that the reasons for their conflict and struggle are ridiculous and this conflict should not even be happening. He is very much commiserating with the Irish lower class, and telling the politicians that something must be done.

Adam Smith's ideas were mocked by Swift, however one or two of his propositions did make some sense. For example, the idea that the town and the country rely on each other to build wealth does appear to be true, and it is obvious from today's economy that free trade does in fact promote economic expansion and therefore creates wealth, not just for the individual, but for society in general. However, Smith's matter-of-fact, purely analytical point of view is imbalanced: morality must have a place in both politics and economy.