Ambition

Ambition is a dominant force in human civilization, driving its greatest achievements and most horrific abuses. Our striving has brought art, airplanes, and antibiotics, as well as wars, genocide, and despotism. This mixed record raises obvious concerns about how we can channel ambition in the most productive directions. To that end, the book begins by exploring three central focuses of ambition: recognition, power, and money. It argues that an excessive preoccupation with these external markers for success can be self-defeating for individuals and toxic for society. Discussion then shifts to the obstacles to constructive ambition and the consequences when ambitions are skewed or blocked by inequality and identity-related characteristics such as gender, race, class, and national origin. Attention also centers on the ways that families, schools, and colleges might play a more effective role in developing positive ambition. The book concludes with an exploration of what sorts of ambitions contribute to sustained well-being. Contemporary research makes clear that even from a purely self-interested perspective, individuals would do well to strive for some goals that transcend the self. Pursuing objectives that have intrinsic value, such as building relationships and contributing to society, generally brings greater fulfillment than chasing extrinsic rewards such as wealth, power, and fame. And society benefits when ambitions for self-advancement do not crowd out efforts for the common good. The hope is to prompt readers to reconsider where their ambitions are leading and whether that destination reflects their deepest needs and highest aspirations.