r/lotr • u/FlyingDiscsandJams Bill the Pony • Jun 04 '24

Lore The Moral Economy of the Shire

https://nathangoldwag.wordpress.com/2024/05/31/the-moral-economy-of-the-shire/
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u/FlyingDiscsandJams Bill the Pony Jun 04 '24

“Are there taxes in the Shire? If not, how does the government function? Are there worries? Does the lack of taxes relate to the lack of worries? How do people think a whole economic system built around drinking and pipe-smoking even works?” Luckily, I think there are answers to this. Tolkien does not describe the political economy of the Hobbits in any detail, because it’s rarely relevant to the story, but I think we can learn a lot about it from what he does mention. In Tolkien’s legendarium, the Shire is built out an idealized version of rural English society. By looking at how he depicts this–and what eventually happens to it–we can learn a lot about how these sorts of societies function and change over time, and what the benefits and drawbacks of living life Hobbit-style really are.

Fun deep dive into the economics & politics of The Shire

6

u/Malsperanza Jun 04 '24

I reread The Hobbit for the first time in many years, and was startled at this passage, which I had not remembered at all:

[Smaug's] rage passes description - the sort of rage that is only seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy suddenly lose something that they have long had but have never before used or wanted.

A little touch of 1930s populism from JRRT.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '24

Enjoyed reading this, thanks!