After listening to the first 3 parts of the wonderful GENE WARS podcasts, it seems clear to me the Old Testament is a recipe for creating and maintaining a K based society and culture.
Gandalf only uses violence to stop aggressive violence. People try to be way to literal, IMO. I mean, sure, the King Returned... having walked the Paths of the Dead... refusing the Ring... not sure how he felt about taxes. LOTR is not some metaphorical textbook on Anarchy, no, but it is all about how power corrupts.