Final answer:
Swift's proposal in 'A Modest Proposal' is directed towards the major social problem of the great number of poor people in Ireland. He suggests selling the poor children as food to the wealthy to address this issue, using satire and irony to shed light on societal indifference and oppressive conditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Swift's proposal in 'A Modest Proposal' is directed towards the major social problem of 'the great number of poor people in Ireland' (D). In his satirical essay, Swift proposes that the poor children be sold as food to the wealthy, as a means to alleviate poverty and overpopulation. He uses irony and dark humor to highlight the indifference of the wealthy towards the suffering of the poor, while critiquing the oppressive social and economic conditions in Ireland during that time.