Despots, old and new

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Originally Posted by Raynor

The supreme art of war is to win without a brute fight, and magic itself might be hard to come by

Unfortunately, in the real world, "magic" in warfare is usually a tremendous display of brute force that so stuns, shocks, and demoralizes one side, those who used that "magic" win. I imagine that the first time explosives were used against a foe who had no notion of their existence, they appeared to be magic. The first nuclear bomb had a "magical" effect, more than was anticipated, because its sheer destructive ability stunned even the people who used it. No doubt there are other examples.

There are certainly parallels in the real world for what one might call the philosophies of war of Tolkien's villains -- though I don't think any are quite as extreme as Melkor once he descended into his total nihilistic madness. The Soviet and Chinese "communist" regimes are probably closest, in that they at points have attempted to control not only the government, but the most basic of human rights, the right to think and believe as one chooses. Sauron's approach of not minding the existence of other beings, so long as they acknowledge him as the supreme power in charge of the world reminds me of Rome, the Mongol Empire, and others that don't come to mind at the moment (sorry. Pounding headaches do not make for the clearest thinking).