Post
Region: Middle Earth
I don't know the context of that letter, but I'd guess Tolkien was feeling pretty overwhelmed by the events of the age. He was born in the late 19th century, and he wrote that amidst WWII. The world had been through so very much.
Those two positions he lays out -- an "anarchy" which sounds to me closer to our libertarianism, and what he likely hopes to be an enlightened monarchy -- lie on two ends of a pole, the extremes of which are often very attractive to folks during periods of upheaval. Both positions find, if not popular than at least vocal, support today. To throw off absolutely any and all power that may be restraining you and the progress of the world; and to exercise absolute power over everyone who you see as holding back your rights and the progress of the world.
Tatarica, Lady eowyn, and Lon Kra Con