Post B9m0BWpSZtfGzCLL2u by conceptualjames@www.minds.com
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 (DIR) Post #B9m0BWpSZtfGzCLL2u by conceptualjames@www.minds.com
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       You might be amused to discover that Tolkien described himself as an anarchist, by which he meant something like an anarcho-monarchist. He did support a benevolent monarchy but did not support absolute power. His ideal political vision was depicted in the Shire, not the rest of Middle Earth, which was ruled by organic networks of families and clans with no formal government whatsoever (it had a mayor that was almost purely ceremonial and a few sheriffs that did almost nothing). (Source: Tolkien himself, btw.)He envisioned the king as a benevolent force that's far away and non-interventionist, not a despot of any kind or someone that even interferes in the affairs of his realm except to set them to right against threats and wrongdoers, and that mostly invisibly, silently, and in the shadows (as with the Rangers). He also admitted that this wasn't a realistic situation in all likelihood.That brings us to the most important point of all, though, which I'll capitalize for the stupid:THE LORD OF THE RINGS IS A FANTASY NOVEL.That is, the Lord of the Rings does not depict an ideal political treatise, and it isn't a veiled work of philosophy like Ayn Rand. It's A FANTASY NOVEL depicting a FANTASY WORLD that is organized according to that FANTASY. It, and its author, might pine a little for a nostalgic, romanticized monarchial past, but he wasn't forwarding it as a political treatise for the world he actually lives in. It is A FANTASY NOVEL WRITTEN PRIMARILY FOR TEENAGERS. You might consider it a morality tale or even an allegory, but it is A FANTASY NOVEL, NOT A POLITICAL TREATISE.Tolkien, for his own part, was staunchly against tyrannical power and said absolutely nothing in the work about anything like a church-state fusion, a state religion, an interventionist executive interfering in the economy, etc. His ideal vision was people being left alone from brigands and bad guys to conduct their own affairs in a pre-industrialized setting (that's never coming back).I must say, I do get tired of all this gaslighting.