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| Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix |
There is little literature known on the social and
philosophical values of the Harry Potter series. Taking a closer look into its
plot and revisiting the events that took place, traces of the ideal British
society can be seen such as the prominent inclinations on gender equality, racial parity, and the inherent
desire of protecting the civilization against a looming revolutionary social
change. It is also apparent in the Potter context that they propose a libertarian
solution against the rational revolutionary force that is manifested in the form of Death Eaters. The
ideas deduced throughout this philosophical project are not assumed to be in
agreement to Rowling’s vision nor is it something inherent in the Potter
series. Rather, this research will draw upon textual evidence and compare it to
existing literature of the political philosophy being discussed. In light of
this, the Potter series will be understood as an analogical tool to spread
socio-political ideologies of libertarian political philosophy that which will
be discussed in the following passages.
Overview of the Argument
Premise
#1: According to the Potter series plot, the protagonists resist the
revolutionary forces (villains) through the insistence of a libertarian
ideological framework.
Premise
#2: J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is an integral part of popular culture
and is widely read and accepted throughout the world.
Conclusion:
Therefore, the Potter series can be considered as a tool to spread the
libertarian political philosophy by instilling a culturally valid version of it
in people’s mind. The best way to do so is to become part of popular culture
and through literature propagate the idea aforementioned.
Support for the Argument
The political philosophy of libertarianism teaches
us that the government’s primary interest is to protect the personal liberties
of each of its citizens. These personal liberties are also said to have a
particularly high moral value that the government’s legitimate role is left
with protecting its citizens from cases such as theft, fraud and force among
others. This is reflected in the characters created by Rowlings herself such as
Albus Dumbledore who represents political libertarian small-government in
accord to the writings of Gregory Bassham (p. 113).
Furthermore, Bassham argues that the ideology of
political libertarianism is highly integral in the entire plot and morality of
the Harry Potter series that its story would not be logical without the
libertarian elements embedded in the decisions made by its characters. In other
words, without the elements of libertarianism, the Potter series would be a
typical adventure novel without any traceable amounts of academic and
philosophical value.
Interestingly enough, Prinzi (2008) posits that
while the Potter series reflects such political philosophy aforementioned, it
does so in a way that avoids the mistake of ideological obsession. For
instance, its proposition towards racial inequality as expressed in the
condition of elves that are forever bound to slavery is not entirely pondered
upon in the book. Rather, it is presented only as a part of a larger context
that is to be revealed in the latter parts of the storyline. The action taken
by Hermoine Granger, one of the protagonists of the story, is also notable as
she attempted to create a civil rights movement advocating the fair treatment
of elves in the Hogwarts kitchen and in the entire wizarding world in general
(Prinzi 226).
In addition, Prinzi maintains that the Harry Potter
series also contains some strands of Christian theology especially expressed by
Rowlings herself in her 2008 Harvard commencement speech stating:
One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch each other people’s lives simply by existing. (qtd. in Prinzi 223)
The statement “what we achieve inwardly will change
outer reality” most especially appeals to Christian theology. Christian
theology specifically demands that social change can be achieved only through
individual changes among the people. Once an inward change occurs to a certain
individual, a person who adheres to the principles of justice, love and mercy
is necessarily born (Prinzi 224).
Aside
from this statement’s connection to Christian theology, it is also extensively
associated with the group called Fabian society. The Fabian society is
basically a collective that believes in gradualism and gradual change as
opposed to the ideals of revolutionary social change. According to George
Bernard Shaw (2006), a Fabian member himself, socialism is possible considering
the aspects of contemporary society. The Fabians can also be considered as
neo-Marxists in general due to their common anti-capitalist sentiments with the
Marxist revolutionary forces throughout the globe. On the other hand, Adrian
Sinfield, Alan Walker and Carol Walker (2011) presents the sociology of Peter
Townsend towards social planning that advocates the eradication of poverty,
political inequality and injustice. Townsend’s philosophy is comparable to that
of the libertarian spirit as professed in the Potter series (Sinfield et al.,
69).
Critical Section
Going
back to the political loyalty of Dumbledore, Bassham further proposes that
Dumbledore was considered libertarian not because of his direct adherence to
the ideals of a “nightwatchmen state” or stating that “the government that
governs least governs best.” Rather, the conclusion that Dumbledore is libertarian
was reached because of his actions towards governing Hogwarts and holding key
positions in the wizarding world such as the Supreme Mugwump of the
International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Bassham 121).
Bassham
further posits that Dumbledore poses no direct connection to libertarian
political philosophy. He does not express adherence to monarchist, communist,
fascist, liberal democratic or anarchic styles of government. Prinzi points out
that the libertarian ideals existing in the plot cannot be pointed out
individually. Rather, it could only be described through circumstantial events that
took place in the book. For instance, Dumbledore’s apparent distrust of political
power is narrated through the Ministry of Magic serving as an obstacle towards
the capture of Voldemort. Dumbledore is portrayed as a man who has witnessed
various cases of tyranny and misuse of power (Bassham 115).
Furthermore,
the Ministry is shown to be impotent especially at the point wherein Voldemort
repetitively attempted to rise to power. In essence, this event functions as a
critique of the government’s excessive bureaucracy. Instead of spending time to
pursue justice or prevent catastrophes, they become engaged in paper works all
in the name of officiality and order only to be met with chaotic destruction
when Voldemort succeeds to regain his strength. In this sense, Dumbledore was
shown to be operating in the background as he successfully thwarts the plans of
Voldemort but pays a fatal price at the end.
In
addition to this, the Ministry is shown to perform unjust decisions especially
in the part where they suspended Dumbledore from headmaster duties in Chamber
of Secrets, the charge of underage use of magic against Potter in Order of the
Phoenix as well as the condemnation of Buckbeak the Hippogriff in Prisoner of
Azkaban. These events attest to Dumbledore’s adherence to libertarian political
philosophy in contrast to the existing government represented by the Ministry
of Magic as an institution. In essence, the libertarian principles in the book
are shown in such a way that will counter the status quo and will serve as an
alternative to a rational revolutionary force represented by Voldemort and the
Death Eaters. In this context, Voldemort was portrayed as a fascist as well as
Snape in the first parts of the book.
In
the last book The Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore admits his distrust with
political power saying “power was my weakness and my temptation” and that he
had “learned that [he] was not to be trusted with power” (Rowlings 448). However, Bassman also counters that the
argument is non sequitur meaning that
libertarian thinkers do not have a monopoly on the concept that power corrupts.
Various political theories adhere to the idea that power corrupts and so the
argument that Dumbledore is inherently libertarian-minded based on his actions
as foretold in the Potter series is necessarily invalid. In this context,
Prinzi offers a new perspective on Dumbledore’s political philosophy saying
that he is an advocate of gradual change similar to the Fabians as mentioned in
the onset.
The
spirit of gradualism, as explained by Shaw (2006) and Sinfield et al. (2011),
is a neo-Marxist tradition whose commonality with the revolutionary Marxists
lies in their anti-capitalist sentiments. At this point, it is imperative to
take into consideration the fact that in the Potter series, there are three
opposing movements – 1) the Death Eaters who represent a loyalty to revolution
and the overthrowing of the state, 2) the Order of the Phoenix led by
Dumbledore and the protagonists in the story such as Harry Potter, Hermoine
Granger and Ronald Weasley as well as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin all of which
represent the libertarian or gradualist (Fabian) trend to social change and 3)
the Ministry of Magic that represents a stubborn and reactionary resistance to
social change as offered by the two groups.
Equally
important is the fact that the Order of the Phoenix is opposed to the
revolutionary forces of the Death Eaters as well as to the incompetent
government of the Ministry of Magic. In this sense, libertarian political
philosophy can be located at the center of the political spectrum due to its
opposition to the government and to the radical change offered by leftists. This
rather ambiguous situation is reflected in the plot of the Potter series as the
two opposing groups or political actors struggle to claim power in the
wizarding world. However, it should be noted that the libertarian side of the
story does not necessarily agree with claiming power – its primary goal is to
instil a seed of gradual inner change among the people similar to that of Christian
theology and the Fabian society (Simon 36). In further assessment, Fabian
socialism is largely the gist of Christian theology in terms of their mutual
agreement to inward and gradual change, the only difference is the former’s
aversion to religious sentiments which Christian theology is necessarily tied
with.
On another point, John Locke’s
Second Treatise approves of the right to revolution on the part of the Death
Eaters. Prinzi even goes as far as saying that the Death Eaters’ revolutionary
ideal is rational at best. Locke says that in the spirit of liberty similar to
that of Thomas Hobbes’ The Leviathan,
humans have the freedom to determine what the state of nature requires of them
to do. Locke also proposes claims against the practice of slavery, private
property as well as the concept of representative government among others.
However, while Locke’s political philosophy can be applied to the condition of
Death Eaters, it can also be interpreted as a libertarian principle as he
expresses in the following passage:
People in this state do not have to ask permission to act or depend on the will of others to arrange matters on their behalf. The natural state is also one of equality in which all power and jurisdiction is reciprocal and no one has more than another. It is evident that all human beings – as creatures belonging to the same species and rank and born indiscriminately with all the same natural advantages and faculties – are equal amongst themselves. (Locke 106)
Locke,
in this passage describes the objective conditions of the natural state he
proposes to be the ideal representative government. This can be applied to the
actions taken by Dumbledore which, for the purposes of this paper, is
considered Fabian and libertarian in essence as well as the revolutionary
tactics employed by Voldemort himself. It is also reflective of the state of
the existing government represented by the Ministry as having been responsible
for the unjust limitation of rights thereby undermining the natural state of
equality among human beings. In other words, Locke primarily criticizes the
bureaucracy of the reactionary government and prefers a rather libertarian mode
of public administration while aversive of Marxist leanings in general (Locke
108; Christman 144).
Conclusion
This research outlined the political philosophies underlying
the Potter series written by Rowlings. It discusses the popular belief that
characters such as Dumbledore as well as certain fictional institutions like
the Order of the Phoenix represent a libertarian ideal while referring to the
Death Eaters as the revolutionary force against the Ministry which in turn
represents the government. The entire discussion can be concluded as a
meta-analysis of the best way to employ responses to political injustice. On
the other hand, the Potter series being part of popular literature is in itself
an effective means to spread libertarian ideology in coherence with the Fabian
society and Christian theology’s political philosophies.
Works Cited
Bassham,
Gregory. The Ultimate Harry Potter and
Philosophy: Hogwarts for Muggles. London, Routledge. 2010. PDF.
Christman,
John Philip. Social and political
philosophy: a contemporary introduction, London: Routledge, 2007. Print.
Locke,
John. Essay Two: Concerning the True Original Extent and End of Civil Government. pp. 105-216. 1689. PDF.
Prinzi, T. Of Fountains, Fabians, and Freedoms.
Harry Potter and Imagination ch. 12.
Rowling,
Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 1998. Print.
Rowling,
Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 1999. Print.
Rowling,
Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 2000. Print.
Rowling,
Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 2003. Print.
Rowling,
Joanne Katherine. Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. 2007. PDF.
Simon,
Thomas. Democracy and social injustice:
law, politics and philosophy, New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.
Print.
Sinfield,
Adrian, Walker, Alan and Walker, Carol. Fighting
poverty, inequality and injustice: a manifesto inspired by Peter Townsend. The
Policy Press, 2011. Print.
Shaw, George
Bernard, Fabian Essays in Socialism. Cosimo,
Inc., 2006. Print.
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