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| 1 | The conception of communism is "the work of Karl Marx and…Friedrich Engels, although they may have borrowed certain elements from other thinkers" (Seé 45). But what if they did more than just borrow a few "certain elements"? What if their ideas are actually the culmination of the works of many thinkers that paved the way as time progressed? This idea that Marx "is…not the first to discuss the idea of proletariat and its position in industrial society, [but merely that] he is the first to relate it to general terms of reference" (Avineri 52) is evident to the student of history and literature who sees the development of typical Marxist ideas trickled through time before they burst forth as full-fledged philosophies in the Communist Manifesto. |
| 2 | Through the progression of human existence, mankind has organized itself in “accordance to their relations to production…What was once a society with little or no class structure, i.e. tribal or nomadic, became a society that split and divided itself into classes [with] different productive roles” (Marxists n.pag.). Jonathan Swift, (1667-1745) the English writer, who wrote Gulliver’s Travels and “A Modest Proposal,” recognized this stratification. In turn, this shift toward class division eventually resulted in a focus on “common man [who renaissance and romantic thinkers, like Swift, considered to be] as valuable as highborn persons,” says James Bryant-Trerise, British Literature instructor at Clackamas Community College. Bryant-Trerise states that this shift of mindset was due to the “focus on the individual,” as opposed to the previous concentration on community that had been pervasive for millennia. By the Romantic period (1785 - 1830), this separation into class systems was becoming more controversial, however. The imposition of oppressive regulations onto the underclass by the rulers was considered to be an abominable sin by romantic writers, like Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge, adds Bryant-Trerise. This further development of renaissance ideas by the romantics sets the stage for Marxist thought to evolve from it just 30 years later. |
| 3 | Of the authors who shared in the development of Marxist thought, Swift is an excellent example because his political beliefs about society are very similar to Marxism. According to J. A. Downie, a reputable scholar of English Literature, Swift belonged to a political party called the Whigs (Higgins 3). They believed that “[a]uthority [resides] in the whole of the body politic” (Case 108) rather than in a single individual. Furthermore, the Whigs believed that “[t]he three estates of the [English] realm - king, nobles, and commons - were of equal importance to the state…” (Case 108). This belief that power is to be held by the majority rather than a small group of ruling elite is at the heart of Marxism. This Whigian creed is akin to the similar doctrines set forth by Marxism in the near future. For example, communism indoctrinates that the oppressed class be liberated from the centralized group of rulers (Payne 159). Such a “power-elite” was viewed by the Whigs to be a social disruption that “would ultimately culminate in tyranny…” (Case 108). Both the Whigs and Marx venomously opposed this type of unbalanced power and viewed it as tyranny. |
| 4 | In addition, when the student of Swift considers Gulliver’s Travels and “A Modest Proposal,” it is reasonable to conclude that Swift was among those that contributed to the incipience of Marxism. This is true because one of his main emphasis in these two works is the idea of class struggle, a fundamental pillar of Marxism. Marxist scholars have defined class conflict as the struggle between two primary classes - the bourgeoisie and the proletariat (Seé 50). In the two literary pieces, Swift depicts this struggle in a way that demands further exploration because this theme predates Marxism by about a hundred years. Through an in-depth investigation of the two works, it can be concluded that Swift’s ideas about class struggle contributed to the eventual birth of Marxism. Because Swift belonged to a political group with similar ideas to that of communism and because the theme of class struggle flows through his work, he is an excellent example of an author who set forth ideas that led to communism. |
| 5 | To better understand Swift’s contributions to the origination of Marxist thought, it is necessary to understand what exactly is meant by class struggle. Marxist doctrine states that “there exist only two [social] classes …capital and labor” (Seé 49), the capitalists being the bourgeoisie and the laborers being the proletariats (Seé 49). To be more specific, “Engels [himself] gives us a precise definition of the ‘bourgeoisie’: it includes all property holders, the landed aristocracy as well as the manufacturers” (Seé 48). This is important in the examination of “A Modest Proposal” because it is these landlords that the political tract is satirizing by suggesting that the impoverished underclass of Ireland sell their children to their landlords as food. Swift’s anger toward these landlords peeps through the essay’s satirical front exposing his true opinion of them. His indignation peeks through when he insists that the bureaucrats who disagree with his proposal should ask the impoverished parents if, in retrospect, they would have preferred selling their children as he suggests. He asserts that they would because by doing so they would have circumvented the unhappy life that “they have since gone through by the oppression of landlords” (Swift, “Modest” 1053). It is Swift’s belief that the plight of the Irish is “brought upon [them by] the gross Neglect, and want of proper Management, in those whose Duty it is to prevent it” (qtd. in Downie 227), i.e. the landlords of Ireland. |
| 6 | Moreover, the proletariats rely solely on their services to produce a living wage, and if the income generated by this sale is insufficient, the underclass of workers is left impoverished. Their means of generating this income “depends…on the sale of its labor and not on the profits derived from any capital…” (qtd. in Payne 159). This is significant because “A Modest Proposal” is Swift’s suggestion to provide the proletariat with a new form of capital, i.e. their infant children. He says that with this new type of capital the proletariat “will have something valuable…to pay their landlord’s rent, their corn and cattle being already seized” (Swift, “Modest” 1051-52). Because the proletariats depend upon the sale of their labor rather than a form of capital for their source of income, the chance of impoverishment coincided with the ups and downs of the whimsical marketplace. When the market for a certain type of labor falls, so does the income level of the workers. As laborers are plummeted into poverty, the chance of obtaining an education also drops. This ensuing poverty has “the effect of making the proletariat as a whole oblivious to both the real causes of its situation and the proper means of rectifying the situation….After a worker [has] spent 14 hours at grueling manual labor he [has] little time and energy for reflecting on the complex factors that forced him to lead such a life…” (Kalin 5). With this broader understanding of class struggle, an illuminating investigation into Swift’s role in developing this idea is possible. |
| 7 | Furthermore, it has been said that the intent of “A Modest Proposal” is “primarily to voice Swift’s monumental anger against the ruling class in Ireland…” (Hunting n.pag.). By satirizing landlords, the essay shows Swift’s indignation toward the bourgeoisie. In the tract, Swift ’s narrator says that the landlords are the reason women beg in the streets with a handful of children trailing on their skirt tails (Swift, “Modest” 1048). Swift’s satirical attack on the bourgeoisie continues by asserting that “this food will be somewhat [expensive] and therefore very proper for landlords” (Swift, “Modest” 1050). Swift, explains in A Short View of the State of Ireland, an essay akin to “A Modest Proposal,” that the poverty in Ireland is due to the landlord’s increased rental fee which “is squeezed out of the very Blood, and Vitals, and Cloathes [sic], and Swellings of the tenants; who live worse than… Beggars” (Hunting n.pag.). Unquestionably, the intention of Swift’s absurd proposal is not to be accepted at face value; the pure monstrosity of the suggestion reveals the intent is to condemn the domination of the bourgeoisie. Denis Donoghue, a prominent scholar of Swift, says that “A Modest Proposal” is “a declaration of war; class war, with the beggars, cottagers, labourers [sic], and farmers…set against the gentlemen who will eat the children” (139). |
| 8 | Not only is this fundamental, Marxist doctrine of class conflict a theme in “A Modest Proposal,” it is also a reoccurring theme in Gulliver’s Travels. Gulliver’s voyage to Lilliput is “a record of the struggle by one class to dominate another” (Gray n.pag.). More specifically, it is an account of Gulliver’s fight to regain and maintain his freedom from the oppressive class of Lilliputians. For example, after being shipwrecked on the island, Gulliver finds his “arms and legs…strongly fastened on each side to the ground” (Swift, Gulliver 911). While persistently suing for the return of his liberty, he is guarded by thousands of soldiers. Eventually, freedom is restored to him if he agrees to nine different conditions. However, when a certain Lilliputian politician concocts false charges that will result in further imprisonment or death, Gulliver’s liberty is again threatened to be revoked. This constant threat of losing his freedom is an illustration of class struggle because it depicts the powerful class dominating the weaker, as the case is with the proletariats and the bourgeoisie. |
| 9 | Moreover, through Gulliver’s attitude of servitude, Swift demonstrates his intolerance of class stratification. Because the manner of Swift’s character is one of servitude, Gulliver is unlike the domineering bourgeoisie who have power over smaller people and use it to exploit them. This attitude of subservience is illustrated through Gulliver enormous stature compared to the natives of Lilliput. For instance, though Gulliver was imprisoned and enslaved by the Lilliputians, “he…willingly prostrates himself at the feet of the Emperor on being given his liberty… Instead of grinding the ridiculous insect beneath his heel, Gulliver immediately assumes an attitude of subservience,” (Downie 270). Such acts of humility are characteristic to Gulliver throughout all of his journeys. For instance, in part four, Gulliver’s journey to Houyhnhnmland, he also humbly refers to his host as his “master” and he considers it an “honor to be in his service” (Swift, Gulliver 1025). Gulliver’s size illustrates the numbers of proletariats that are being controlled by a small number of bourgeoisie. In other words, the minute size of the Lilliputians is symbolic of the small number of bourgeoisie that control the immense population of working class people. Gulliver’s service of all his hosts and relationship to the Lilliputians shows that Swift believes that those in power are to be civil servants of the lower class even though they are immensely larger in political power. Swift says that he has “lived, and by the grace of God will die, an enemy to servitude and slavery of all kinds” (qtd. in Higgins 34). |
| 10 | In addition to oppressing Gulliver, the Lilliputians are trying to suppress the Blufuscuians as well. With the use of Gulliver’s gigantic size, these little bourgeoisie destroy the Blefuscu fleet and attempt to colonize them. In order to obtain his freedom, Gulliver had to agree to serve in such a military endeavor. However, when he was confronted with this obligation, he refuses to use his massive size to suppress the Blufuscuians. Because Gulliver, a type of proletariat hero, is “a device used by Swift to make satirical points” (Downie 272), creating him as a character that unrelentingly opposes such imperialistic exploitations shows Swift’s intolerance of a dominating class. |
| 11 | Further, this humble attitude of Gulliver’s is a stark contrast to other travelers of his day. For example, the Dutch, Spanish, and the English do not humbly serve the natives of the countries that they travel to as Gulliver does. These empires slaughtered the South Africans, the Central Americans, and the Native American Indians for the acquisition of their land and resources. The contrast between Gulliver and his non-fictitious contemporaries reveals Swift opposition to colonialism on the basis that it suppresses a weaker class of people. Gulliver and his realistic contemporaries have different mindsets, Gulliver’s is one of humility and the attitude of his cohorts is one of dominance. Because Swift’s character opposes class stratification, while the nations of his day made class division a foreign policy, Swift is a good example of an intellectual that led to Marxism. |
| 12 | However, it is vital to recognize that at the heart of Swift’s opposition to colonialism is his condemnation of class struggle. His intolerance of imperialism is simply an outworking of his opposition to class domination. More specifically, he is opposed to the very same sort of imperialistic domination within his own country of residence as he is to the European imperialism of nations on other continents. This domination of the Irish proletariats, in Swift’s opinion, is due to the “irresponsible behavior of [the] Irish landlords” (Downie 226). His blame of the Irish aristocracy for the problems entangling Ireland show that he is also concerned with domestic oppression of the weaker class and not just England’s imperialistic domination of Ireland. It is important to recognize this because without seeing that Swift makes no nationalistic separation one could wrongly conclude that Swift’s opposition to English colonialism is not due to his loathing of class struggle but merely patriotic interests. This reemphasizes the fact that Swift is not an anti-colonialist first, but at the heart of his political view is his opposition of class struggle, whether it is the English dominating the Irish or the Irish dominating the Irish. |
| 13 | This idea of class struggle didn’t begin with Swift nor does it end with him. However, he is an excellent example of an author who contributed to the further progression of the idea. One can easily imagine that his ideas spread to a larger audience than other political works did because of the amusement in Swift’s works. Those parents that read their children the fanciful stories of Gulliver Lemuel were exposed to Swift’s ideas about class struggle that lie beneath the surface of the childish tales. In this way, Swift reached an audience that scholarly works could not have. Whatever the case may have been, his influence unquestionably impacted subsequent authors, who in turn influenced others with this idea of class struggle. A generation after Swift wrote “A Modest Proposal” and Gulliver’s Travels, William Godwin composed, “Inquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793), which foretold an inevitable but peaceful evolution of society to a final stage in which all property would be equally distributed and all government would wither away” (Abrams and Stillinger 1261). With this, Godwin influenced Wordsworth, Shelley, and other writers of that era (Abrams and Stillinger 1261). It is works such as Swift’s that make the student of literature and history aware that Marx’s idea of class struggle was revolutionary, but he “was certainly not the first to discuss the idea of proletariat and its position in industrial society, he is [simply] the first to relate it to general terms of reference” (Avineri 52). The contributions of Swift’s ideas to the tributary of thought concerning the underprivileged contributed to the revolutionary flood that poured across the English Channel, eventually impacted the European continent, and welled up in Karl Marx. |
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Nominated and Edited by James L. Bryant-Trerise, Literature Instructor
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