Others (Rack, for instance - and judging from the lame magic he sold Warren, his powers lay more in inducing highs than actually hurting people) seemed perfectly content to just exploit the people around him, which is so much easier and comfier than trying to rule the world. That doesn't necessarily mean that there is something in magic that makes every user want to NOT conquer the world.
Well, if we look at the situation realistically, magic, like paranormal abilities gives certain people advantages over other people. And these advantages give them power over regular humans. In a real world such people would be either working under close government/military surveillance or simply exterminated.
As long as the story with magic elements plays like fairy tale it works OK within genre conventions. But as soon as a writer mixes wizardry and miliraty conspiracy, it becomes tricky. I'm very curious to see how Joss will pull it off.
Tara was never bad - nobody had any trouble with her using magic in s6. The (never actually seen) coven in England were obviously a force for good. For the most part, Willow was too - at least pre-s6, and certainly by the end of s7. Giles and Wesley frequently used magic for more-or-less good purposes. I never saw the show stating outright that "all magic is bad"
I always found it a bit funny that magic was good in Tara's case, but bad in Willow's case. Although, theoretically one can draw a parallel with regular people who drink occasionally and know when to stop and alcoholics who can't control themselves.
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Well, if we look at the situation realistically, magic, like paranormal abilities gives certain people advantages over other people. And these advantages give them power over regular humans. In a real world such people would be either working under close government/military surveillance or simply exterminated.
As long as the story with magic elements plays like fairy tale it works OK within genre conventions. But as soon as a writer mixes wizardry and miliraty conspiracy, it becomes tricky. I'm very curious to see how Joss will pull it off.
Tara was never bad - nobody had any trouble with her using magic in s6. The (never actually seen) coven in England were obviously a force for good. For the most part, Willow was too - at least pre-s6, and certainly by the end of s7. Giles and Wesley frequently used magic for more-or-less good purposes. I never saw the show stating outright that "all magic is bad"
I always found it a bit funny that magic was good in Tara's case, but bad in Willow's case. Although, theoretically one can draw a parallel with regular people who drink occasionally and know when to stop and alcoholics who can't control themselves.