A Modest Proposal background.

. William Petty (economist): thought mathematics and the senses must be the basis of all rational sciences. Petty famously declared that his form of science would only use measurable phenomena and would seek quantitative precision, rather than rely on comparatives or superlatives. New subject that he named political arithmetic. Recognized that value was not only found in money. Working class held a lot of sway in his model of our economy. Francis Bacon (philosophy): utopia - an ideal land where "generosity and enlightenment, dignity and splendor, piety and public spirit"