“Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.”
SWIFT ON LAWS
“For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery."
SWIFT ON LOCKE'S SOCIAL CONTRACT
“ I never saw, heard, nor read, that the clergy were beloved in any nation where Christianity was the religion of the country. Nothing can render them popular, but some degree of persecution.”
SWIFT ON RELIGION
Like many philosophes, Swift’s main critiques were directed towards the Catholic Church and the government. He was especially vocal in expressing his disapproval of the overwhelming poverty and of the limited liberties granted to the people, as well as for the English government's little regard for the conditions of many Irish civilians. Another principle which he advocated was tolerance. He greatly resented the Catholic Church for their intolerant acts and the persecutions which they brought forth throughout history.
Swift was very supportive of John Locke's view of the social contract, stating that a government can rule justly solely if the people agree to with the ruler, the laws and the lifestyle that they are presented with. Furthermore, Swift largely disapproved of the absolutist tendencies of some rulers and supported constitutional monarchies, which used laws as means, not only to limit the people, but also to limit the king. These ideas are evidently expressed in the quotes that follow...
SWIFT ON POLITICS & RELIGION
WHAT HE SUPPORTED & RESENTED
Overall, Swift (being a steadfast Anglican priest) was in support of the Anglican church, and of the authority of parliament. On the other hand, he rejected the power of the crown, which had a tendency to absolutism and he supported the idea of diminishing Roman Catholic influence in the political office.
Paradoxically, Swift began writing satirical essays and pamphlets for the Whig political party (the Liberals), who shared his ideas of increasing the power of the parliament while diminishing that of the monarch. However, when the Whig party fell in 1709, Swift became an author for The Examiner, the political journal of the Tories (the Conservatives). Although the Tories supported the monarch, they did share a key idea with Swift: the support of the Anglican Church. Swifts political controversies emerged in his pamphlets, poems and essay, becoming crucial documents of the Whig vs. Tories conflict of the 18th century.