Tom Shippey

Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good

Philosophy

“Many have suspected that, just as Tolkien’s religious faith, never mentioned in his fiction, nevertheless underlies it, so political philosophy, never directly expressed, animates his fiction and is one powerful reason for the responses it has generated. Joshua Hren’s study of Tolkien and ‘the common good’ takes this intuition and makes out the case for it, with detailed study of both the traditional philosophy Tolkien knew, and the philosophical developments which have occurred since.”

The Hobbit Party

Arts & Literature

“The hobbits' Shire is a microcosm of Victorian England in every way, especially the way everything works fine without interference from the institutions of the state. But can the Shire really be a model for our more complex times? The Hobbit Party, with its punning title, makes the case that it can be, should be, was meant to be, and that The Lord of the Rings expands the argument to give us images of an ethical as well as ecological politics, ever more badly needed.”