system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[LotR:TFotR] Gandalf says that the ring would hold terrible power if he took it. What kind of power, and what would happen ?
gpt
Gandalf is one of the few people who has enough inherent power and force of will that he stands a good chance of being able to overthrow Sauron using the One Ring. Even if Gandalf just carried the Ring around with him, not intending to use it, he would know that he *could* defeat Sauron with it. The Ring would use his goodness and desire to protect others to persuade him that mastering the Ring is the only way to save everyone from Sauron. But to fully master the Ring and defeat Sauron would, because of the Ring's inherently corrupting nature, completely subvert his original intentions. While he would still *seem* good to most people and might even keep his good intentions for a while, it wouldn't stop with defeating Sauron. He would have to rule over everyone, for their own good, to protect all the peoples of Middle-earth. And between his own power and the power Sauron put into the Ring, there probably aren't many people who would have a chance of stopping him. Eventually you'd end up with the Middle-earth version of a dystopian police state. Some relevant quotes:

> Gandalf as Ring-Lord would have been far worse than Sauron. He would have remained 'righteous', but self-righteous. He would have continued to rule and order things for 'good', and the benefit of his subjects according to his wisdom (which was and would have remained great).

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> Thus while Sauron multiplied evil, he left "good" clearly distinguishable from it. Gandalf would have made good detestable and seem evil.