Spying Game Philosophy - The Phoenix must die!

[B Arrowsmith]

No: HPFGUIDX 81074

"Heh, heh," chuckled Kneasy, "As fine a piece o' sophistry as I've seen 
in many a year. An idealist is he? This Dumbledore chappie o' yourn? 
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Them's the sort as causes trouble, you mark my words."

Well, we were warned, a couple of weeks  back. We've  been waiting with 
bated breath and here it is - Pip's Theory of Everything.

Of course,  I  don't totally agree with everything you say (would you 
expect me to?) and I've a feeling you're skating on very thin ice in 
one or two spots. But we're not playing Postman's Knock (you post 'em, 
I knock 'em); this is much more fun. Synthesis by analysis if we're 
lucky. You do  the personal philosophies, I'll try the matching 
motivations and possible outcomes. Or not, as the case may be.

What larks, Pip! What larks!

Let's play  with the words!

Pip:
So, Voldemort believes in immortality, in fear, in taking over, and in 
purifying the wizarding race. He especially believes in power........If 
you're a pure blood, or even 'pure enough' you might well think that 
you have a lot more to lose than gain by refusing to obey Voldemort.

Kneasy:
Well, yes. Useful stuff, immortality - superficially at least. If he 
gets true immortality he can't lose. He can always wait everybody else 
out. Put his feet up, start another long Russian novel, they'll all die 
soon enough, of natural causes too! Look! Clean hands!  So why the 
rush? Why now? Especially as he seems to be approaching immortality one 
way or another already.

It's the Philosophers Stone.  DD had (has?)  it. Why? Safekeeping, so 
they say. Oh, really? DD has it because he was Nick Flamel's partner. 
And why would these two  have one of those, unless to  use it? Flamel 
did, we know that. What about DD?

Voldy wants the stone as much to deny it to Albus as he does for his 
own use. If DD uses it, then he wins by default instead of Vodemort. 
Voldy doesn't trust anybody. He certainly doesn't trust the general 
perception that DD is a simple, kind-hearted, may the best man win, 
Queensbury Rules softy who would never, ever use the stone. Oh, no. DD 
intends to  win. However he can.

Power comes in many forms.  Economic, military, political, magical.  
The last of these trumps the rest.  He who has the magical power can do 
  what he damn well pleases. Why else would DD scorn the Minister of 
Magic post? Because it's meaningless. If you've got the power, it's 
just a title; if you haven't got the power, you're a puppet.

At fairly frequent intervals throughout the books, Voldy  claims to be 
the most powerful wizard, sorcerer, whatever. Just as frequently 
someone pops up with "Oh, no, you're not. Dumbledore is!"
This is a struggle between two wizards for who wields ultimate  power. 
Voldemort would actively use the power, Dumbledore passively - maybe.

Pureblood -  mudblood would be irrelevant. It is largely irrelevant. 
It's a way of keeping score. Feelings and expressions of superiority / 
inferiority happen no matter how just the society. It is innate in our 
nature. If we don't use one set of criteria, we'll use another. We 
always have done, we always will. Sex, money, age, chattels, race, 
religion,  intelligence, employment, even body shape. They've all been 
used, are used, even today. DD will change human nature, give the WW a 
utopian equality? I  don't think so.

If Voldy won, what would happen to Hogwarts? Pureblood only? Like Hell! 
Selected, very carefully selected students only. Constantly monitored - 
  as would be the curriculum. Can't have some whippersnapper thinking 
they can follow the same career path, especially not those 
untrustworthy Slytherins!

Pip  likens the war  to  '30s Germany. Nothing like, in my opinion. I 
prefer comparison with some of the later Roman Emperors. Say, if 
Vespasian had faced up to Tiberius. (Not that he did.)
Voldemort as  Tiberius; one of the 'in' crowd. Corrupt, cruel, 
arbitrary.
Dumbledore as Vespasian; an outsider; gets there on merit and 
calculation, cleans up  the mess left by others. Gets things sorted.

But both are rulers. To run things, much the same chores have to be 
done on a day-to-day basis. The  Empire has to  be kept going, no 
matter what. The ruling classes are just the surface scum. It's all a 
matter of degree, not a dichotomy of function. Was  the ordinary man on 
the Ostia carriers cart affected by all this? Not so's you'd notice. He 
still ate, slept, worked. His money just had a different head on it, 
that's all.

Pip:
Dumbledore does not believe in seizing power.

Kneasy:
Well, if he wins, he's got it. It's an adjunct of victory. So what does 
he do with it?
Abdication is not an option. Human nature being what it is, someone is 
sure to come along and think "Why not me?" Then we're back where we 
started.
Give it away? Not possible. Not magical power. It resides within 
Dumbledore; nowhere else.
If he retires, sets up a new government, it'll only form factions, each 
appealing to him  for support. It all gets very messy.

The idea that he can change the ethos of the WW from within the school 
pre-supposes that he will  be around for long enough to have a 
permanent effect. Certainly 30 years is not enough, as is evidenced by 
the current state of things. Maybe he'll need the Philosophers Stone 
after all.

This is where  the extrapolations start.

Pip:
An endless series of battles against  Dark Lords. Because the WW, with 
it's tacit acceptance of bigotry, corruption, Dark (or Black) 
magicians, it's feelings of superiority over the muggle race it came 
from, is set up  to  *produce* Dark magicians who will seek power.

House Slytherin is a respected part  of  Hogwarts. "Pureblood' as a 
password and using any means to achieve your ends is respectable. It is 
a house that native born wizards aspire to.

Kneasy:
What  happens if Voldemort wins? More of the  same, I expect. When 
you've got ultimate power people do what they're told. Even supporters. 
Maybe a demonstration of power every now and again, just to remind 
everybody what's what. No need to go berserk. Who wants to rule a 
wasteland? Just like the Roman Empire.

What would happen if Dumbledore wins? Any  changes?

Many  posters have asked  "Why is Slytherin?" Good question. Old Sally 
left these many centuries past. Yet Godric Gryffindor's hat still 
recognises his adherents. Why? Well, every society is a dynamic; there 
must be a conflict of ideas for progress to be measured and justified. 
But is this the best way of doing it? How about  getting rid  of that 
damn hat and with it Slytherin, Gryffindor and the rest. After all, 
Slytherin has been a  training ground, a nursery for the pureblood 
superiority ethic since forever. And a great place to make contacts 
with the like-minded. Dilute the poison. Spread 'em around. Maybe you 
can dilute them enough to make a homeopathic mix.

Alternative: Close down Hogwarts. Start afresh. New school, new 
philosophy.

Alternative: Remove magic from the world. That'd do it. While there's 
magic there'll be a Voldemort.

Pip:
.....and none will come after...
No more Dark Lords. Never Again.

"Do I believe in magic? No, I don't."   JKR, Albert Hall interview.


Kneasy.
Oh, Pip - only one 'e' in Kneasy please; otherwise it isn't an anagram 
of Sneaky.