I found this article about Tolkien’s views on the use of power to fight power the other day; the philosophy that Tolkien developed as a result of his time spent in WWI shows quite clearly in Lord of the Rings. In short: concentrated power is bad – always.

Power is an ominous and sinister word in all these tales

This is true at the highest level and at the more accessible levels. Look at the treatment of this guy after dropping his iPod in the jetliner lavatory

I’m speaking specifically of the customs inspector who, apparently on his own, decided what was right and what was wrong. I have to say that the author of the story handled that much better than I would.