[William Cloud Hicklin]

We also can't discount the fact that literature faculties are in most places heavily politicized (almost invariably to the Left), and Tolkien is just too Politically Incorrect. How many pinheads have we seen, starting with China Mieville, denouncing him for having kingdoms (instead of autonomous peoples' collectives, I suppose), or charging him with racism. After all, the main thrust of post-Derrida literary criticism boils down to ascribing some political view to a work, and denouncing it. Mosst of this (and God knows I've read a lot) is, under its incomprehensible jargon and the piling up of Authorities' polysyllabic coinages, just a pl;atform for the critic's sociopolitical rantings- certainly they tell you far more about the critic than the work criticised. Unfortunately Tolkien is not ony counterrevolutionary, he's also concerning himself with hopelessly outdated (and class-oppressive) matters like Honor and Courage and Death and Evil and even God- where's the social utility in that?

Edit: Davem- your last post is right on the money. No social 'relevance' - Tolkien himself wass onto that one, when he pointed out the derogatory use of "escapism", and confusing the escape of the prisoner with the flight of the deserter.