Without LotR...hmmm. We all would be still alive?
No, seriously, the movies, for example, have brought certain companies lots of money, people arrange lotr weddings, some schools offer courses of elvish and we have an opponent for Harry Potter. But I don't think that the lack of the beloved trilogy would bring up any owerflowing difficulties to people's normal life. *dodges flying objects coming from die hard fans' general direction*