The anti-industrial angle doesn't bother me at all. It's a running theme that Saruman is a spoiler of nature, so it's no surprise he'd do the same to the Shire. But then, The Lorax is one of my favorite stories, so maybe that disqualifies me from judgement on this.
I don't really see it as ant-industrial. First of all, Sharky's regime is a brutal dictatorship run by a collection of the worst of the Shire and mercenaries from elsewhere, so it's really anti authoritarian. Secondly, the excesses taken in industrial arena are well beyond the pale - they arenât just building a manufacturing capability, they are raping the land, so its really anti _irresponsible_ industry. Do we think that if Tolkien had his way there would be no mill at all, or would there be a mill that operated in such a manner that it did not sully the landscape and pollute the stream? I'd argue the latter.
-- Doug _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
