Ambition is a strong desire for socially-evaluated achievement, almost always involving peer competition. Some of this is probably personality, and some of this is probably learned and honed. It’s a useful construct, why not? There’s a nice documentary on Netflix about Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is the embodiment of ambition. His entire life was about dominance over competitors, many of whom were peers that did not necessarily see themselves as competitors. This “ambition” drove him to be a top bodybuilder, then a millionaire in business, then a top actor, then governor of California.
Ambition, then, is the overzealous pursuit of gain. It’s going full Conan the Barbarian. The problem with ambition is that (1) it’s zero sum, and (2) it’s narrow-minded. A society filled with Schwarzeneggers would terminate itself. The dominance-hungry who fail would self-implode and lash out, and all the necessary thinking and consideration outside dominance would not get done.
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Notes -
Ambition is a strong desire for socially-evaluated achievement, almost always involving peer competition. Some of this is probably personality, and some of this is probably learned and honed. It’s a useful construct, why not? There’s a nice documentary on Netflix about Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is the embodiment of ambition. His entire life was about dominance over competitors, many of whom were peers that did not necessarily see themselves as competitors. This “ambition” drove him to be a top bodybuilder, then a millionaire in business, then a top actor, then governor of California.
Ambition, then, is the overzealous pursuit of gain. It’s going full Conan the Barbarian. The problem with ambition is that (1) it’s zero sum, and (2) it’s narrow-minded. A society filled with Schwarzeneggers would terminate itself. The dominance-hungry who fail would self-implode and lash out, and all the necessary thinking and consideration outside dominance would not get done.
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