----- Original Message ----- From: "Reggie Bautista" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 3:30 PM Subject: Re: Fwd: Tolkien & Technology: A Commentary from Bill Hammack
> Marvin wrote: > >I think a more interesting analysis of Tolkien (since his > >anti-industrialism has been done to death) would be to explore the > >consequences of his "pro-tech" side. I think he has one, but the "tech" > >is dressed up as craft. > [snip] > >One consequence of Tolkien's nostalgia for old ways (that never existed, > >since he had to invent them) at the expense of the new is that he draws a > >comparison between clumsy tech and graceful tech. > > Tolkien never struck me as being anti-tech at all, just anti- > industrialization. As you say, he seems to praise tech that > is done within an agrarian setting, such as among the elves, > he just doesn't appear to like that tech being used to cause > deforestation and smoke being belched into the sky. Actually, the reality is the exact opposite. The beginning of the use of mechanical tractors coincides very well with the beginning of the use of tractors instead of horses. > I think Tolkien's real point here is that tech should serve > the inhabitants of the natural world, as opposed to tech > being served by the natural world. By this definition, the > Ring can be seen as industrialized (or industrializing) tech, > in that it controls rather than empowering. I agree that it is his point, but it is based on falsehoods. I fault him because he should have known better. The natural world was one in which most people lived in abject poverty. Only the elite was even decently well off. There have been problems with factories, but the type of agricultural technology used by pre-moderns was actually far more damaging to the enviornment than modern factories. Wood fires do far more damage to the environment than coal, oil and natural gas. > If you look at it from that perspective, then LotR starts to > look almost Libertarian. The Ring, and Sauron and Saruman, > try to bend others to their will, and the free people of the > world (elves, hobbits, orcs, some humans) band together to > protect their freedom to choose how they wish to live, > without being dominated by outside powers like Sauron et.al. But, the free people all know their place. It would be foolish to think of the wrong bloodline running Gondor. That is not Libertarian, but old fashion aristocracy. Dan M. > Reggie Bautista > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail > > _______________________________________________ > http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
