NOTE: This post contains some plot spoilers for The Lord of The Rings and other Tolkien books.
In a fascinating recent blog post, economist Bryan Caplan highlights some similarities between standard socialist complaints about capitalism, and long-running fan claims that the giant Eagles didn’t do enough to fight Sauron in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Most obviously, fans have long argued that the Eagles should have just flown the Ring of Power to Mount Doom and dropped it in, thus sparing the Fellowship of the Ring great suffering, and saving the may lives lost in the War of the Ring. The so-called “eagle plot hole” is a longstanding focus of debate.
Caplan lists some other things fans believe the Eagles should have done:
“Why didn’t the eagles transport Gandalf everywhere instead of making him ride a horse?”
“Why didn’t the eagles fight at Minas Tirith?”
“Why didn’t the eagles fly Bilbo and the Dwarves straight to the Lonely Mountain?”
“Why didn’t the eagles grab Azog from his command post in the Battle of the Five Armies and drop him to his death?”
Caplan suggests less criticism of the Eagles for what they could have done but didn’t, and more gratitude for all the good they did do:
Give the eagles a break! The eagles are already doing a ton of great stuff for Middle Earth! They’re giant…
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