Jonathan Swift - A Modest Proposal

While reading this, I was trying to figure out who this type of reasoning sounded like.  It was almost as if I were listening to the arguments of Hannibal Lecter.  They were extremely clear, concise, and logical, however, all lacked any sense of humanity or decency.  How do you relate eating children to promoting pride in your country?

Even though I spent the entire read saying, "Are you serious?", I can't help but admire the way Swift proposes this unbelievable argument, causing his readers to scream at the page for him to stop, but somehow unable to stop themselves from reading more.  

I'm not sure if you would call this satire, because even though Swift is using exaggeration, I'm not sure who this exaggeration was used to criticize.  Maybe he is criticizing the government for not finding a solution to this problem.  Maybe he is criticizing landlords for not giving poor people a break.  Or maybe he is criticizing the rich for their extravagances in lieu of such social injustices.  Or maybe, just maybe, he is criticizing them all.  So, in that light, I guess you can call this a satire.