Lord of the Ring – Democracy vs Dictatorship
Skrevet af Jakob Dalgaard Wissing

In the year of 1892 was a man named John Ronald Reuel Tolkien born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. In 1915, graduated Tolkien from Oxford with a bachelor in the English language and literature. However, as the First World War ravaged through Europe it became clear to Tolkien that he had to go to France and participate in the war. Here did Tolkien experience death firsthand as many of his friends died in the trenches. Tolkien himself caught the trench fever, which resulted in him getting send back to a hospital in England. This event probably saved his life. While Tolkien was in the hospital, did he begin writing fantasy. It was here the first drafts of the “Lord of The Rings” universe was created.
The lord of the rings trilogy was written during a span covering the days during the First World War until 10 years after the Second World War. This horrible era in history left its mark on the whole world for generations to come, and it most certainly made Tolkien the man he was. Many serious themes that were actual at the time is in fact described in Tolkien’s universe though most of them is hidden behind a layer of fantasy. One of these actual serious themes is “Democracy vs Dictatorship”. These two forms of government defined the world in the lifetime of Tolkien and were the cause of many conflicts including “World War II” and “The Cold War”. The reason why these two forms of government is the reason for so many disputes can be explained by one word, power. It is one man that hold all the power in a dictatorship and therefore is the area controlled by the dictator shaped after his image. This is not necessarily a bad thing as some dictators manages to create prosperity and happiness without encountering any opposition. Dictators are though most of the time responsible for many terrible actions due to their lust for more power, which is why it have been synonymous with evil leaders. Democracy though is a slower but safer form compared to dictatorship while the power is lying with a group and not a single person. The individuals in the group is chose on behalf of the people to represent their wishes and ambitions. This has a tendency to create problems, as it is rare that everyone want the same. In Tolkien’s books is the world Middle-earth divided by the two above-mentioned forms of government. Resembling dictatorship is the dark lord Sauron and the sorcerer Saruman who are the rulers of the lands Mordor and Isengard. Sauron is the main antagonist in the Lord of the Rings and the creator of the “Ring of Power”. An object that holds immense power and can change the outcome of the war between Sauron and “The free people of Middle-earth”.
Resembling Democracy, we have the united forces of the free people of Middle-earth: The Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits and partially the Ents. This democracy comes to life in the house of Elrond, one of the elven leaders. Representatives from every race attend the meeting (except the ents) where they discuss the fate of the, “Ring of Power” this is a long process as some participants wants to use the ring, while others wants to destroy it. In the end is it the decision to destroy the ring that wins the votes and a fellowship is made. Gandalf the wizard leads this fellowship although there were no democratic process electing him as a leader. However, it is common knowledge that Gandalf is the wisest so choosing him as the leader of the fellowship is logical.