J.R.R. Tolkien's Vision of Freedom
<p>Anyone who has read&nbsp;<em>The Hobbit</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>The Lord of the Rings</em>&nbsp;can gather that their author hated tyranny, but few know that the novelist who once described himself as a hobbit “in all but size” was—even by hobbit standards—a zealous proponent of economic freedom and small government. There is a growing concern among many that the West is sliding into political, economic, and moral bankruptcy. In his beloved novels of Middle-Earth, J.R.R. Tolkien has drawn us a map to freedom.</p><p>Several books ably explore how Tolkien’s Catholic faith informed his fiction. None until now have centered on how his passion for liberty and limited government also shaped his work, or how this passion grew directly from his theological vision of man and creation.&nbsp;<em>The Hobbit Party</em>&nbsp;fills this void. Jonathan&nbsp;Witt&nbsp;and Jay Richards bring to&nbsp;<em>The Hobbit Party</em>&nbsp;a combined expertise in literary studies, political theory, economics, philosophy, and theology.</p><br><p>Jonathan Witt, PhD, is Executive Editor of Discovery Institute Press and a senior fellow and senior project manager with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. His latest book is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936599503/?tag=discoveryinsti06" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Heretic: One Scientist’s Journey from Darwin to Design</em></a>&nbsp;(DI Press, 2018) written with Finnish bioengineer Matti Leisola. Witt also authored&nbsp;<em>Intelligent Design Uncensored</em>&nbsp;(IVP, 2010) with William Dembski, and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ameaningfulworld.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature</em></a>&nbsp;(IVP, 2006) with Benjamin Wiker. He is also the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Party-Vision-Freedom-Tolkien/dp/1586178237/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1521576971&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=hobbit+party" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>The Hobbit Party: The Vision of Freedom That Tolkien Got, and the West Forgot&nbsp;</em></a>(Ignatius, 2014)<em>,&nbsp;</em>written with Jay Richards<em>.</em></p><br><p><span class="ql-cursor"> </span><a href="https://www.acton.org/audio" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Subscribe to our podcasts</a></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
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Show Notes
Anyone who has read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings can gather that their author hated tyranny, but few know that the novelist who once described himself as a hobbit “in all but size” was—even by hobbit standards—a zealous proponent of economic freedom and small government. There is a growing concern among many that the West is sliding into political, economic, and moral bankruptcy. In his beloved novels of Middle-Earth, J.R.R. Tolkien has drawn us a map to freedom.
Several books ably explore how Tolkien’s Catholic faith informed his fiction. None until now have centered on how his passion for liberty and limited government also shaped his work, or how this passion grew directly from his theological vision of man and creation. The Hobbit Party fills this void. Jonathan Witt and Jay Richards bring to The Hobbit Party a combined expertise in literary studies, political theory, economics, philosophy, and theology.
Jonathan Witt, PhD, is Executive Editor of Discovery Institute Press and a senior fellow and senior project manager with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. His latest book is Heretic: One Scientist’s Journey from Darwin to Design (DI Press, 2018) written with Finnish bioengineer Matti Leisola. Witt also authored Intelligent Design Uncensored (IVP, 2010) with William Dembski, and A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature (IVP, 2006) with Benjamin Wiker. He is also the author of The Hobbit Party: The Vision of Freedom That Tolkien Got, and the West Forgot (Ignatius, 2014), written with Jay Richards.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.