The Political HP

[Jim Ferer]

Barry, Asley, and Caius: 
http://tinyurl.com/yomtk6   Univ. of Tennessee Prof. Benjamin Barton
also gives a libertarian  interpretation of HP 

http://www.lashawnbarber.com/ffc/wp-content/SSRN-id830765.pdf 

This essay was written after HBP, and is fairly lengthy - a brief 
article about is available here: 

 http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/showarticle.php?articleid=51562   -    
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Lyn: "I leave all of the above to preserve the links. Barton details
the  evidence over the first six books (and the last book provides 
additional examples) of the malignancy inherent in the MOM, 
essentially irrespective of its leader.     So is it any wonder I find
fault with her casual epilogue comments  (Today Show interview) that
the future careers of all three of the  trio is in extended MOM
service. Saccharine is actually too kind a  term to apply to what she
now presents." 

JKR doesn't seem to trust large, intrusive government, so I think she
is taking something of a libertarian tack here. Libertarians believe
governments will inevitably get into self-perpetuating mischief if
they grow at all large or get involved in too many things.  Defense,
though, is one of the government functions libertarians admit, so
careers as Aurors are still valid in this view. I was always struck at
how the MoM never seems to have to answer to anyone. The Minister is
chosen by — who? We never learn, except that he's not elected. I
thought of all the technocrats in Brussels when I thought of the
Ministry bureaucracy. 

Jim Ferer