Tolkien, Technology, and... War

[Child of the 7th Age]

I don't think Tolkien was against all science and technology....only the abuses. But he did see "the Enemy" as the "Lord of Magic and Machines", who used magia for his own power. It was this potential for abuse that concerned JRRT. Having lived in the 20th century, he had seen this happen too many times. Yet it is possible to find postive references to technology in the Legendarium (as well as their negative counterparts), if you search closely. Let me mention just a few.

First, there is a brief but interesting comment in the Letters that suggests Tolkien drew a distinction between technological advancement per se, and the use of that technology for destructive purposes. This comment occurs in draft Letter 155, where Tolkien comments on the changes introduced into the Shire during the Wars of the Ring:

It would no doubt be possible to defend poor Lotho's introduction of more
efficient mills; but not to Sharkey and Sandyman's use of them.

To me, this draws a clear line between the technology itself and the way it is employed The critical difference is the element of coercion that Tolkien felt often followed on the heels of technology, especially technology that could be used for military purposes.

Tolkien displays a similar ambivalence in regard to the Noldor. He notes they were "always on the side of 'science and technology' as we should call it." Sometimes this had positive results. It is the Noldor, probably Feanor, who crafted the Palantiri. For many years, these were routinely used in helping the kings of Arnor and Gondor maintain the communications they needed to keep their realms together for as long as they did. No one, least of all Tolkien, condemned this. It was only when one of these crystal globes fell into Sauron's hands that their use became problematic, and they were abused. (On this, see UT).

Still, there is a less pleasant side of the Noldor's technology. These were the same Elves who cooperated with Sauron in forging the Rings of Power, certainly the most powerful 'technology' in Middle-earth. It was Sauron who duped and betrayed them into using their powerful skills to create something extremely destructive, which was ultimately against their own self-interest, and the self-interest of all the free peoples of Middle-earth.

Tolkien showed a similar ambivalence in dealing with the dwarves' love of mining. Mining is technology and a craft that can be used for both war and peace. There are many instances where the dwarves' greed for mithril and other fine metals led to misery. The one that immediately comes to mind is when they dug too deep in Moria and wakened evil things that would have been better left alone.

Yet there is another passage that leaves us with a totally different feeling: Gimli's rapturous description of the Caves at Helm's Deep.

No Dwarf could be unmoved by such loveliness. None of Durin's race would mine those caves for stones or ore, not if diamonds and gold could be got there....We would tend these glades of flowering stone, not quarry them.

It was presumably from these caves that the mithril came to rebuild the gates of Gondor, yet another positive use of technology. This last quote also suggests a tie-in to another theme in LotR that Tolkien stressed: that of guardianship of the Earth. Technology could be destructive for two reasons: the element of coercion, and the destruction of Arda's natural beauty. Technology without proper guardianship was an unalloyed evil.

It's no coincidence that parts of Mordor looked like industrial wasteland. In Frodo's words, "earth and air and water all seem accursed". Near Mount Doom, the Hobbits found "a huge mass of ash and slag and burned stone" where "the air was full of fumes; breathing was painful and difficult." Sound familiar anyone?

Would Tolkien have hated the computer? Given his ambivalent record, I'm not so sure. At one point he had a television so he could watch certain sports matches. He learned to drive a car, but gave it up, partially because he saw the way the influx of roads "destroyed" the British countryside. But he does depict a train with affection in one of his minor works. My guess is that he would not have hated the computer but might have been leery about such abuses as the spread of trash (the invasion of pornography and other stupidity into our homes) or the loss of privacy that sometimes results.