Hey,
Nogrod, thanks for letting me know about this re-read.
I've mostly gotten caught up, so I just wanted to point out several things.
If I may, start back with a
Long-Expected Party. Two things that spring to mind here.
First, the idea of having to earn your wealth. Bilbo is wealthy, but Bilbo worked for that wealth. In Gandalf's opinion, killing Smaug and returning the Dwarves to Erebor, was vital in the end victory against Sauron:
Quote:
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"Think of what might have been. Dragon-fire and savage swords in Eriador, night in Rivendell. There might be no Queen in Gondor. We might now hope to return from the victory here only to ruin and ash. But that has been averted - because I met Thorin Oakenshield one evening on the edge of spring in Bree. A chance-meeting, as we say in Middle-earth."~Appendix A: Durin's Folk
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To which Bilbo played a part, so why shouldn't he get part of the spoils? Also, you can look at it, in a way, that Bilbo was taking the treasure from Smagu (
Edit: Oops, bad typo, but I'll just leave it here...because I believe that Smagu was Smaug's identical twin dragon and thus Smaug was able to escape proving Dragon's still exist in Middle-earth.), who didn't deserve the wealth. What had Smaug done, besides eating and terrifying civilians, to deserve a pleasant retirement on a horde of cash? Plus, Smaug's hording of that wealth and Bilbo's redistribution of it (which I will get to in my next point).
Frodo inherits Bilbo's wealth, and as
Nogrod points out for a while sits around and does (or has) nothing to do (afterall Gandalf did tell him to stay put). But we all know that Frodo doesn't do "nothing" through the rest of the story.
As opposed to the Sackville-Bagginses, who believed they were entitled to Bilbo's wealth. However, what had they done to deserve Bilbo's inheritance, other than complain that they deserved it?
Secondly, along with being wealthy (also the same applied - at least for a time - noble) there was an expectation of giving back; or in some way, serving. Smaug hordes his wealth, and has no use for it other than to hold on to it, because he believes it's his. Bilbo gives back, and by gives back, it's pointed out that he doesn't "recycle" the mathoms that travel around, he always gives new presents. Despite the belief of the young treasure seekers, or the idea that Gandalf and Frodo designed a plan to run off with Bilbo's wealth, the reality is that doesn't happen.
Let's take the formation of Japan as an example. Merchants socially, and politically, were the scum of society, despite being some of the wealthiest people (at the start they were mostly small, family peddlers, but as Japan became united, we see this what you might call 'pre-capitalism' stage, and merchants began to become very wealthy). Anyway, merchants were below peasants on the social ladder in Japan. Because it was viewed that peasants provided a service to the "community." They were dirt poor, but they were the one's who providal a social need...food and labor. Merchants were viewed as the parasites of society, they lived off other people's wealth and didn't provide anything good for society. This was one big cause to the collapse of the Japanese Empire. As the merchants became wealthier, they still held no social power, and we all know you can't have your wealthiest families at the bottom of the social and political ladder.
Then I guess kind of the quick sum up is, with wealth (or royalty and nobility), comes:
1. The justification that you've earned it.
2. The expectation that you provide service/a giving back to your comminuty.