Daily Archives: November 22, 2023

Statement by MIT Free Speech Alliance

This entry was posted in News and tagged Internet MIT on by

I just received the following email from the MIT Free Speech Alliance, regarding the malicious email that I discussed in a recent post. It came just a little while after I submitted an inquiry on the subject, but unless they can write really fast, I don’t think there’s a causal connection. Here’s the message, with their email redacted since I like to be cautious about posting addresses on the Web. (The address of the perpetrator doesn’t merit any caution.)
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New article: “The political philosophy of Tolkien”

This entry was posted in My writing and tagged books fantasy on by

My latest article for Liberty Fund is now out: “The Political Philosophy of Tolkien.”

J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings presents several societies with different approaches to government. The most prominent include the idyllic Shire, the grand realm of Gondor, the hardy kingdom of Rohan, and the absolute dictatorship of Mordor. Looking at them gives strong indications of his views of government. In addition, we have his own words on the kind of governance he favored.

The most detailed description of a governmental structure is that of the Shire, the home of the Hobbits. …