Right-wing populists distort The Lord of the Rings: the true meaning of Tolkien's work.

The Tech Right and the Misunderstanding of The Lord of the Rings

According to Vox: Among the many issues facing Americans today is the persistent fact that representatives of the tech right and conservative leaders do not understand the basics of scientific culture. This is concerning because, aside from more serious matters, such as white nationalism in government, the lack of understanding from intellectuals is alarming. Simply put, these individuals demonstrate a poor grasp of such phenomena.

Misreading the Classics

One of the texts that they often distort is The Lord of the Rings. This beloved fantasy trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien tells of the destructive influence of power and the necessity of self-sacrifice. However, the right continues to use it as an argument for granting more power to strong leaders, believing that humanity should aspire to immortality.

Recently, Elon Musk published a message on the platform X, claiming that peaceful hobbits could live quietly in the Shire only thanks to the 'tough men of Gondor', attempting to emphasize the role of human kingdoms fighting against Mordor. He also expressed the opinion that England should unite with tough leaders, including anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson, to restore peace. Currently, Robinson is facing a legal investigation in the UK for resisting counter-terrorism police and claims that Musk is covering his legal expenses.

Agitation via Popular Images

Following Musk, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched an ICE advertisement using a frame from the character Merry (played by Dominic Monaghan), one of the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings films. The image features a line from Merry: 'There will be no Shire, Pippin', with URL join.ice.gov.

In this concept, naive hobbits symbolize civilians in the U.S. and the UK, who, unaware of the threat of evil, find themselves confronted with a potentially dangerous situation that fosters phobias about Muslim migrants from the Middle East, who are being stopped in both countries. The metaphor suggests that the only way to avoid the threat is to unite with 'tough men of Gondor', meaning aesthetic activists for Musk and private militias attacking unarmed civilians for DHS, to preserve their way of life.

However, one does not need to be a deep expert in The Lord of the Rings—and I am not—to understand that this metaphor falls apart upon the slightest scrutiny.

The True Essence of Tolkien's Story

In Tolkien's books, it is not the men of Gondor who stop the forces of evil and save the Shire; it is the peaceful hobbits themselves who perform this role. They are the only ones capable of bearing the One Ring of Power, as their nature does not aspire to ambition. All they want is to live their simple lives with tea and toast, thus they can resist the temptations promised by the ring, and ultimately destroy it. The best that the men of Gondor can do is to refrain from the temptation to touch the ring, knowing that if they do, they will not be able to withstand its allure.

If you consider Tolkien your guide and believe that your country is under threat, the solution is not to try to consolidate power, heighten your nature, and praise senseless cruelty. The real solution is to reject power when it is offered to you and to fight from a position of humility.

Not only DHS and Musk use Tolkien to justify their actions. As David French noted, JD Vance described The Lord of the Rings as a key element of his transition to conservatism, to the point that he named his venture capital firm Narya after one of Tolkien's magical rings. His mentor, Peter Thiel, named his venture capital firm Mithril after one of Tolkien's magical metals. Another Thiel company is the AI platform that Trump uses to monitor Americans, named Palantir, after the magical artifact used by the villain Sauron to surveil the inhabitants of Middle-earth.

The dark subtext of these parallels is acceptable for Thiel, who seems to sympathize most with Tolkien's villains. In a 2023 interview, he stated that he has read the trilogy at least 10 times and concluded that the only difference between Tolkien's elves and his people is that elves are immortal and do not die. 'Why can't we be elves?' Thiel asked, actively seeking to extend his life to immortality.

One of the central storylines of The Lord of the Rings concerns the attempts of men to become immortal like elves, which ultimately leads to corruption and the ruin of their lives. They become lifeless or insane, clinging to caricatures of senseless existence. Death in these books is a Gift to Men, something that gives meaning to our existence. The elves are immortal, while the human longing for immortality leads to their corruption like those who greedily seek power. For Tolkien, mortality is a gift, not something to be feared.

These messages are not difficult to understand. They are obvious. Even middle school students receive them from these books without any difficulty. Yet for some reason, a certain group of influential individuals, who consider themselves smart and see Tolkien's philosophy as the basis of their worldview, struggles with their comprehension.

The Lord of the Rings serves as an apt metaphor for what happens when powerful people ignore the wisdom of those whom they claim to respect, considering that the only way they can serve the world is through an excessive pursuit of power for themselves. This is what happens to the wizard Saruman, who ends his meddling in the Shire. The men of Gondor do not stop him in any way.