>Ruling is hard. This was maybe my answer to Tolkien, whom, as much as I admire him, I do quibble with. Lord of the Rings had a very medieval philosophy: that if the king was a good man, the land would prosper. We look at real history and it’s not that simple. Tolkien can say that Aragorn became king and reigned for a hundred years, and he was wise and good. But Tolkien doesn’t ask the question: What was Aragorn’s tax policy? Did he maintain a standing army? What did he do in times of flood and famine? And what about all these orcs? By the end of the war, Sauron is gone but all of the orcs aren’t gone – they’re in the mountains. Did Aragorn pursue a policy of systematic genocide and kill them? Even the little baby orcs, in their little orc cradles?
Ruling is hard. This was maybe my answer to Tolkien, whom, as much as I admire him, I do quibble with...
>Did >>>Tolkein answer a bunch of arbitrary questions that I am going to straw man to make me feel better about my writing style?
>>Ruling is hard.
Oh boy this thread again. Making these should be bannable.
>This was maybe my answer to Tolkien, whom, as much as I admire him, I do quibble with. Lord of the Rings had a very medieval philosophy: that if the king was a good man, the land would prosper.
Denethor, and Theoden were both good men but awful rulers. Denethor eventually went mad and Theoden started listening to bad advice from Wormtongue. Even after Theoden was rid of Wormtongue, he had to rely a lot on Aragorn and couldn't raise a large army.
>We look at real history and it’s not that simple. Tolkien can say that Aragorn became king and reigned for a hundred years, and he was wise and good. But Tolkien doesn’t ask the question: What was Aragorn’s tax policy?
30% on merchantry and a flat rent for land usage. What's Daneris's tax policy again?
>Did he maintain a standing army?
He had the Citadel Guard. Presumably the rest of the army was levy.
>What did he do in times of flood and famine?
Disaster relief
>And what about all these orcs? By the end of the war, Sauron is gone but all of the orcs aren’t gone – they’re in the mountains. Did Aragorn pursue a policy of systematic genocide and kill them? Even the little baby orcs, in their little orc cradles?
No, Tolkien stated that no one in Middle Earth is born evil, not even orcs. The orcs were evil because they were ruled by Sauron. With Sauron gone, they would be disorganized and no longer a major threat, and may eventually join the other races in peace.
>Making these should be bannable.
This
Same thing could be applied to asoiaf.
It's not a very realistic world either
...
I wish we had a designated ASOIAF general, so we could talk about the books without "le fat man" shitposting like in those threads.
Why didn't Robert just hire a faceless man?
He was actually thinking about it, but Littefinger said that "it's too expensive", and the Seven Kingdoms were in huge debt anyway. This may be true, or may be bullshit. This is Littlefinger we're talking about, Daenerys living would probably benefit him.
These threads violate GR2, right?
What was Robert Baratheon's tax policy?
Aragorn displayed some political savvy when dealing with the surviving orcs. It's mentioned that orcs never really troubled Gondor in force again, and it's also mentioned that Aragorn gave Nurn, the fertile southern half of Mordor, to the Men who had been slaves of Sauron.
Think about the economics of that seemingly kindly decision. Mordor is in anarchy, with its head of state, and all nine of its top military officials gone. Earthquakes of some kind are wrecking Gorgoroth, and the supply lines are presumably shut down. You're an orc. Where do you go? You go to Nurn where the food is. War is inevitable with the easterlings who have just been told the land is theirs and who are certianly not keen on sharing with their former oppressors.
Aragorn set two of his problems against each other and let them take care of each other while he got to keep his hands clean.
Have some more wine and let Littlefinger take care of it.
Tax payable in gold, beer or whores once a year or when you can get around to it.
>Let Littlefinger handle it, he's a smart guy.
>Hm-m-m-m, I wonder why our debt grows every year
>Wait, no, I don't give a shit
>LANCEL, MORE WINE, YOU SON OF A WHOOOOORE
Thirding.
Shit like this ruined fantasy
Explain?
YES, WE GET IT, YOU LIKE THIS THREAD AND /pol/TARDATION, NOW FUCK OFF.
>he's a smart guy
for you
Theoden and Denethor were clearly not so good since they were corruptible.