Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun
So maybe, as long as Sauron gave his subjects an external enemy to vent their anger and lust for conflict toward, his realm could have endured. Perhaps the utter subjugation of the West, once accomplished, would have indeed led to an insane plan to conquer even Valinor, and take down the 'false gods' of the West. I can see Sauron eventually getting arrogant enough to try it, or at least to feign that was an ultimate goal of his.
For a 1984 parallel, the "war' against the West need not even be actual. Sauron could manufacture 'attacks' by the remaining Elves and Men and blame the Valar, turning whatever hate and frustration fumed in Mordor's minions always away from himself.
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I think something like the second scenario seems fitting. While I imagine Sauron would not have even admitted the existence of the Valar to his minions unless he had to, I can see him constantly finding new "undesirables" within his own realm to target for terrorisation and destruction in order to keep the rest of the populace in line. This would be consistent with real-world totalitarian policy, as Hannah Arendt for instance interpreted it.