• cmbabul@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    8 months ago

    Does Hobbiton have any sort of government that I’m forgetting about or otherwise unaware of? I’ve always thought of it as an anarchists paradise

    • mellowheat@suppo.fi
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      19
      arrow-down
      8
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      “The Shire at this time had hardly any ‘government.’ Families for the most part managed their own affairs. … The Thain was the master of the Shire-moot, and captain of the Shire-muster and the Hobbitry-in-arms, but as a muster and moot were only held in times of emergency, which no longer occurred, the Thainship had ceased to be more than a nominal dignity.”

      Sounds like night-watch libertarianism that had declined to something even more minimal. Which ironically was easily run over by a smooth-talking old man with a broken staff and a pretty small bunch of ruffians. You had one job.