It’s unsettling how billionaire Peter Thiel has modeled his entire corporate empire: from Palantir to Mithril Capital and Valar Ventures: on Lord of the Rings while seemingly missing the entire moral core of the series. Using a quote from the 1977 animated Hobbit movie in his yearbook instead of the actual book is the ultimate 'bad fan' move. Tolkien’s work is a cautionary tale about the corrupting nature of absolute power and the dangers of industrialization, yet Thiel uses these names for a global surveillance apparatus and venture capital firms. If you name your data-mining company after an all-seeing stone that specifically led to the corruption of leaders like Denethor and Saruman, you haven't actually understood the books you claim to love. He's not the hero; he's just building Isengard. #culture #politics #literature