An Analytical Viewpoint

It is sometimes the case that emotionally laden words and high-sounding concepts use what can only be described as semantic piggybacking.  Their moral foundation rests on another meaning of the same word in order to make a different, less justified context more meaningful.  In regular usage, ‘legitimacy’ refers not just to conformation to the law but to moral justification. Oxforddictionaries.com defines ‘legitimacy’ as “a. Conformity to the law or to rules. B. Ability to be defended with logic or justification; validity.” The definitions of this word can be numerous but run roughly along the same lines.  However, when the same word is spoken in politics, it often simply refers to recognition of a state or authority by outside forces.  The constituent theory of statehood holds that a state cannot be legitimate unless acknowledged by an already recognised state.  The problem is that it lacks the former foundation of regular usage: moral justificat...

Allegations of racism have been  leveled   against J.R.R. Tolkien’s works for a long time but have gained traction and attention since the highly successful film series by Peter Jackson.  The critics are numerous, and their works and opinions have been widely posted.  Tolkien fans and the Tolkien Society have worked hard to dispel myths and misconceptions.   I am not an expert on Tolkien, nor am I am a member of the Tolkien Society.  However, I am quite familiar with his work and hopefully, my post will help to clarify the debate on the nature of his works. JRR Tolkien as a soldier in 1916 - Wikimedia Commons The views of the outraged can be pretty well summed up by Suzzi Tordebring in “Stereotypes of Race and Gender in J.R.R. Tolkien’s  The Lord of the Rings  from an Intercultural Perspective”.  In the article, she asserts that Tolkien has written in such a way to attribute moral superiority to blood and heredity, and f...