Final answer:
In 'A Modest Proposal,' Jonathan Swift satirically claims sincerity and lack of self-interest by suggesting the poor Irish children could be sold as food, thereby benefiting the public. Swift's proposal is so outrageous that it forces readers to confront the actual inhumane economic policies toward the poor of that time. This use of satire as a rhetorical device is intended to criticize societal indifference to poverty.
Step-by-step explanation:
In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift satirically demonstrates sincerity and a lack of self-interest by adopting the persona of a concerned economist who suggests that the poor children of Ireland could be sold as food to the rich. This ultimately benefits the public, according to the proposer. Swift adopts a serious tone to mask the absurdity of his suggestion, stating, "I profess in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary work..."
Beneath this surface-level claim of sincerity, Swift is actually engaging in biting satire, poking fun at the cold calculations of politicians and their lack of real empathy for the poor. His lack of self-interest is highlighted by the claim that he cannot profit since his own children are too old to be sold and his wife is past child-bearing age. This serves to enhance his ethos, or credibility, by implying that he advocates for the proposal out of altruism rather than personal gain.
However, Swift subversively undercuts the seriousness of his proposal by laying out an argument that is so outrageous to his contemporary readers that it forces them to confront the inhumanity of their actual, less extreme, economic policies toward the poor. This is especially evident as he discusses the state of poverty and the burden of the population, making readers question the ethics and rationality of their own society's approach to the poor.
Ultimately, Swift's work does not straightforwardly demonstrate sincerity or lack of self-interest; rather, it employs these as tools of satire to criticize the economic and political stances of his time, which ignored the human element of the issues they addressed.