Roger Scruton, author of Green Philosophy, has ideas about democracy that can be seen in action in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Scruton explains that democracy is taking policies that “are made in one’s name and endorsing them as ‘ours’, even when one disagrees with them” (Scruton, 239). On their way to Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings, Sam and Frodo are struggling to summit Mount Doom when Frodo declares that he does “not choose now to do what [he] came to do” (Tolkien, 945). Sam neither tries to talk Frodo into completing the task nor takes the Ring and completes the task himself. Sam accepts Frodo’s decision and expresses nothing but compassion for his companion. When the Ring is finally destroyed, Sam explains that he would’ve “spared him a whole hand” rather than let Gollum bite one of Frodo’s fingers (Tolkien, 947). Sam represents the very foundations of democracy – he completely embodies Scruton’s statement about accepting another person’s policies as one’s own. Scruton describes that Sam is able to partake in democracy, because he has “… a strong sense of who ‘we’ are, [and] why ‘we’ are acting in this way” (239). Tolkien’s hobbits are the most democratic characters in The Lord of the Rings because they are humble Shire folk who simply have common “hobbit sense”. Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry are very sure of who they are, and they don’t expect anything more. They are jolly and light-hearted, and they would do anything to protect their home. In the destruction of the One Ring, and through all of their selfless and surprisingly courageous acts, the Hobbits show that they have the most definite sense of self allowing them to act in a very democratic way.
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