Good topic! This quote has been stuck in my brain for quite a while...
I see the statement as somewhat of a value judgement or personal opinion on Tolkien's part. I tend to disagree with his assessment to some extent.
I think that Tolkien's problem with the way Gandalf would behave as Ring Lord has to do with Gandalf being likely to curtail people's free will. "I'm wiser than you and know better than you yourself what's best for you. Therefore I'm going to protect you from yourselves whether you like it or not. So quit trying to think for yourselves and do what I tell you, because I know best."
In a sense Gandalf would be right, because all of what he says is accurate. He
is wiser than anyone else in Middle Earth, and if he had dictatorial powers,
would keep everyone from getting into a lot of trouble, as would otherwise happen is they were left to their own devices.
Of course, the downside is it makes a mockery of Eru's desire for his Children to have free will.
Worse than Sauron though? I disagree. The one saving aspect is that Sauron (or Morgoth for that matter) never achieved a position of quasi-omnipotence within Middle-earth. (He can never achieve complete omnipotence since he will never be able to make himself stronger then Eru, or even the Valar). But if Sauron had won the war and regained the ring, and none could foresee his weakening, then the fact that Good remains distinct from Evil is of little use if nobody has any way of resisting Evil. So if I had to choose a Ring Lord who was all powerful, and whose will I would have no choice but to obey, I choose Gandalf.
If on the other hand, the Ring Lord was
not in complete control of things (as was always the case the Sauron did have the Ring), then Tolkien's view seems more justified. Things get very morally convoluted, as when the Noldor went to Middle-earth to fight Morgoth, or Ar-Pharazon decided to attack Sauron. Yes, one side is utterly and irredeemably evil, but the "Good Guys" are a distinct shade of gray, morally speaking.
I think this quote underscores the importance of free will to Tolkien personally, and the belief that Good will always come out of Evil.
Quote:
Thus, even as Eru spoke to us, shall beauty not before conceived be brought into Ëa, and evil yet be good to have been"
-Manwë upon hearing the reply of Fëanor to his heralds.
|
Of course, the bad part about free will is that there always seem to be a certain fraction of people who never seem to put it to any use besides causing problems for everyone else. We can all probably think of people whom we wish
didn't have free will, as it might make life much less problematic for the rest of us if they were indeed just acting on the command of someone like Gandalf, rather than creatively doing bad things.
Tolkien's view would almost certainly be that not be desirable though, for two reasons. First, there are always unintended consequences, and things that appear good often are not when one looks at the larger picture. Secondly, Macchiavellian type actions which might be justified in their original context often expand to the point where they are almost completely unjustified. That is what Gandalf is referring to when he says that he would be tempted to use the power of the Ring for good, but in the end the original intent would be lost.
I tend to go somewhat back and forth on this issue, depending on my mood and what problems someone has created for the world on that particular day. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]