J.R.R. Tolkien as Libertarian

Tags: Biographies, World History

01/26/2010 Jeff Riggenbach

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is thought to be the greatest work of the 20th century with 150 million readers. The book’s thesis - Evil power cannot be defeated by power - is libertarian. Lord Acton phrased this concept as Power tends to corrupt and Absolute power corrupts absolutely. This was why the one ring in Lord of the Rings had to be destroyed.

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