The Lord of the Rings: A Libertarian/Anarcho-Capitalist Message

[Vessol]

I was watching The Fellowship of the Ring last night(I often do when I have trouble falling asleep, great movies and the music is very relaxing).

The main reason I love the Fellowship of the Ring movie and the book is because of The Shire.

The book goes into more details about it, but The Shire in LotR is a very libertarian/anarcho-capitalist society. They have no organized government. All they really have is a Mayor whom they all elect who pretty much officiates parties and such.

The only services the "government" offered was the post-service and the Sherrifs whom were volunteers whom wandered the land and protected the hobbits from natural dangers(such as wolves) and mediated disputes, in total for the entire Shire there were 12 of them. The Bounders were also an unofficial border control of militia volunteers whom protect the Shire from outside dangers such as gangs and ruffians, and many years ago: goblins.

There is also the Thain and the Master of Buckland, but these are rather hereditary titles granted to the heads of two families(the Tooks and the Brandybucks respectively) by the King of the North many years ago. They exercise little, if any power beyond ceremonial.

The Hobbits live in a completely voluntaryist society, where private property is respected and so is the rights of every individual.

At the end of the Return of the King it goes into great detail about how a bunch of ruffians and bandits took over the Shire(lead by Sauruman) and made tons of laws. It's hilarious how blunt Tolkien is when laws such as "redistribution for the poor" are introduced, one of the hobbits says "All they mean is that they take more food from us and redistribute it amongst themselves." The hobbits then muster a voluntary militia force in which they fight back the occupiers.

The rest of the books have a very libertarian message as well, I'll see if I can go over them more later.

But, definitely the best message is that of the One Ring. Even the most powerful of beings that are beyond mortal(Gandalf, Elrond, Galadrial) and even powerful mortals (Aragorn) know they cannot resist the ultimate power of the One Ring and must destroy it. A very good damnation of Big Government.

 

[Nate-ForLiberty]

The last time I read the book was before I became a Ron Pauler. You've just inspired me to read it again

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Wagner's Ring (of Niebelung) cycle is pretty libertarian too. If you like opera (and speak German), check it out sometime.

 

[MelissaWV]

The last time I read the book was before I became a Ron Pauler. You've just inspired me to read it again

Rereading the LOTR books is more fulfilling than the initial read, I think. You know which parts to skim through. Damn but there's a lot of pointless filler in those books!

Tom Bombadil needs to die in a fire. Entirely.

 

[Vessol]

Tom Bombadil! Hi ho Merry Dol! I love Tom Bombadil <3.

He is the manifestation of Eru the creator. He shows a very Deistic approach to religion. A deity who does not interfere in the ways of the world.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

But, definitely the best message is that of the One Ring. Even the most powerful of beings that are beyond mortal(Gandalf, Elrond, Galadrial) and even powerful mortals (Aragorn) know they cannot resist the ultimate power of the One Ring and must destroy it. A very good damnation of Big Government.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Acton

Of course there could be a debate as to why the elven rings of power don't corrupt...

 

[Kotin]

Rereading the LOTR books is more fulfilling than the initial read, I think. You know which parts to skim through. Damn but there's a lot of pointless filler in those books!

Tom Bombadil needs to die in a fire. Entirely.

Yes.. Tolkien was quite fond of describing every piece of furniture, dinner plates, silverwear and carpets.. Pretty much every detail possible..

 

[heavenlyboy34]

I feel kind of left out, as I've never read LOTR

 

[silverhandorder]

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Acton

Of course there could be a debate as to why the elven rings of power don't corrupt...

Elven nature is different then that of humans. They are more resistant to things like power. After all the only person that gets offered the ring freely was Galadriel and she is able to resist it. The same can not be said for Gandalf and Aragorn. Both warn Frodo that if freely given they will take it.

Anyways while I am going all geek on you guys add Sword of Truth to the list. I heard he came out of retirement and is writing more.

 

[AutoDas]

• http://mises.org/Community/forums/t/17475.aspx
• YouTube - J.R.R. Tolkien as Libertarian | by Jeff Riggenbach

http://www.strike-the-root.com/abolitionist-argument-in-35-seconds

In short, the Lord of the Rings could be viewed as an allegory for anything you want to see and it does have libertarian messages, but the Shire is not an example of an "anarcho"-capitalist society.

 

[Nate-ForLiberty]

Rereading the LOTR books is more fulfilling than the initial read, I think. You know which parts to skim through. Damn but there's a lot of pointless filler in those books!

Tom Bombadil needs to die in a fire. Entirely.

I <3 Tom Bombadil! Have you read the Silmarillion? If not, do! Mr. B makes much more awesome sense with a full back story of Middle Earth.



....such a nerd

 

[PatriotOne]

There are so many ways to view this movie and espcially the books. Religously, politically, historically, esoterically, just for entertainment, etc. It's a story that can be dissected through many lenses. Most people haven't a clue the genius of the movie on so many levels.

Though it promotes One World Order (King Aragorn) more than libertarianism. Kings and freedom are like oil and water. I sure wasn't dissapponted when I looked at Tolkien's biography to see ties into the manipulator's of the One World Order. Just a couple of obvious clues: Son of a banker and appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

 

[Nate-ForLiberty]

There are so many ways to view this movie and espcially the books. Religously, politically, historically, esoterically, just for entertainment, etc. It's a story that can be dissected through many lenses. Most people haven't a clue the genius of the movie on so many levels.

Though it promotes One World Order (King Aragorn) more than libertarianism. Kings and freedom are like oil and water. I sure wasn't dissapponted when I looked at Tolkien's biography to see ties into the manipulator's of the One World Order. Just a couple of obvious clues: Son of a banker and appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

I'm not so sure about the One World Order thing. Rohan and Gondor were two separate kingdoms although allied. And at the end of the story Aragorn orders that men are to stay out of the shire.

 

[A. Havnes]

Tom Bombadil! Hi ho Merry Dol! I love Tom Bombadil <3.

He is the manifestation of Eru the creator. He shows a very Deistic approach to religion. A deity who does not interfere in the ways of the world.

LOL! I love Tom Bombadil! I found a very extensive essay on him

http://tolkien.slimy.com/essays/Bombadil.html

On that note, I Tolkien wrote this in a letter to his son.

My political opinions lean more and more to Anarchy (philosophically understood, meaning abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs) – or to ‘unconstitutional’ monarchy . . . Anyway, the proper study of man is anything but man; and the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity. And at least it is done only to a small group of men who know who their master is. The medievals were only too right in taking nolo episcopari as the best reason a man could give to others for making him a bishop. Give me a king whose chief interest in life is stamps, railways, or race-horses; and who has the power to sack his Vizier (or whatever you care to call him) if he does not like the cut of his trousers. And so on down the line. But, of course, the fatal weakness of all that — after all only the fatal weakness of all good things in a bad corrupt unnatural world — is that it works and has worked only when all the world is messing along in the same good old inefficient human way.

 

[MelissaWV]

I <3 Tom Bombadil! Have you read the Silmarillion? If not, do! Mr. B makes much more awesome sense with a full back story of Middle Earth.

....such a nerd

I've read it, yes.

I still dislike the passages in Fellowship of the Ring about him. The entire episode is overlong and seems to throw the pace entirely off-track.

 

[libertybrewcity]

Funny, I watched the fellowship of the ring two days ago and the two towers last night. But, I have never read the books. Judging by your comments it seems I have missed an incredible amount of stuff.

 

[MelissaWV]

Funny, I watched the fellowship of the ring two days ago and the two towers last night. But, I have never read the books. Judging by your comments it seems I have missed an incredible amount of stuff.

Well, and you likely have a few things backwards, too. The movies took a few liberties... some of which bothered me. I'm not all geeked out on movies being precisely as written, but when the reason for changing something is stinky, it really is annoying.

Arwen is not some warrior princess who rides up and saves Frodo by getting him across the river, dammit. I guess the movie had filled it's old dude quota and decided to change the whole scene.

 

[PatriotOne]

I'm not so sure about the One World Order thing. Rohan and Gondor were two separate kingdoms although allied. And at the end of the story Aragorn orders that men are to stay out of the shire.

Yes, but they were both "kingdoms". I suppose you could have a libertarian king but history says otherwise....lol. One has to be pretty deep into researching the New World Order from many angles to see the fingerprints of them all over this film.

 

[erowe1]

Tolkien was an anarchist. And he did incorporate that message into LOTR.

But why do you specify "anarcho-capitalist"? Did anarcho-capitalism even exist when Tolkien wrote it?

 

[A. Havnes]

Yes, but they were both "kingdoms". I suppose you could have a libertarian king but history says otherwise....lol. One has to be pretty deep into researching the New World Order from many angles to see the fingerprints of them all over this film.

Look at my last post; in his own words, Tolkien leaned towards anarchy. I suppose that's also why he preferred the lifestyle of Hobbits to those of the other races.

On that note, I don't think LOTR was meant to be regarded as a political story, nor did Tolkien intend for us to be reading into it and clue hunting. If anything prompted him to write it, it was his love of languages, not a political agenda.