[Raynor]

I would say there are some perennial traits regarding any dictatorship, be it in fantasy or in real life. Disregarding for a moment the magic factor in ruling subjects, (or, equating it, if you will, with the "magic" of modern transmission of information, and with advances in the science of mass persuasion/manipulation), I would say that a lot of parallels can be seen, pointing to some of the weaknesses of the human spirit, and how easy/often they are taken advantage of:

- ruthless rulers, proclaiming "divine" guidance, while perpetrating massive acts of violence; in Ea, take Numenor towards its end; in RL, take some modern day leaders of "superpower" nations, from the Western side of the fence, and, say the Romanian Iron Legion government, or, why not, the Nazi regime itself

- subjects willing to do the bidding of such rules, almost completely convinced of the righteousness of doing so;

- extreme hypocrisy from rules in both worlds: or well, at least at the start, when they are aware they are planning to manipulate others into following them; later, they all seem to start believe their own lies of greatness and entitlement

- the mixing of theology and politics to further authoritarian agendas: Sauron definitely propagated a theology of his own; many authoritarian RL leaders also find the mix of the two quite helpful; feigning piousness to a supernatural power has always served tyrants well, as noted by Aristotle

- infatuation with technologies, of the destroying kind

- reckless exploitation of the environment, with rather complete disregard of future impacts

- anomie and atomie: breakdown of laws, and breakdown of social relations

- persecution of the dissidents, stiffing of open debate, torture of "lower" races and even of the "chosen kind", if they stray from the official politic;
- the 'paradox' of using the ladder of old customs to get to the top, but then abolishing them for personal benefit

- instilling fear in order to start wars

- increased accumulation/polarization of wealth in the hands of few (during Akallabeth, "their rich men [grew] even richer", in an obviously zero-sum game)

- exploiting the lure of instant satisfaction (be it merchandise in real life, or avoiding "the end of delight" in Numenor by conquering the undying lands)

- militaristic legacy: near-constant waging of wars, as a normal way of life

- appropriation of (or, at least, actions taken to appropriate) lands of particular natural resources, because they should 'obviously' belong to the rulers (such oil resources in real life, or the undying lands)

Any thoughts on how much these comparisons hold true, or how similar the mechanisms may be in either case?