On Ambition

It never fails to amaze me the depths some people will go to rise to the top. What particularly gets under my skin are the characters who seem to be getting along with their colleagues then behind their backs cut them down in the most vicious way. It is these types of characters who invariably get promoted and are sometimes held in high esteem especially by their superiors. Still, I listen to their diatribe against person X and oftentimes find myself defending that person in a way that doesn't seem like I am taking sides. What experience has taught me is that the folks who tend to gossip the most about other people end up gossiping about you to other people as well. Also, the ones who do most of the work in any particular organization oftentimes are not the ones promoted--instead the gossipers, the ones rubbing elbows with their superiors and falsely taking credit for other people's work are catapulted to the top. Meritocracy is a sham, for the most part ( see http://www.ncsociology.org/sociationtoday/v21/merit.htm and http://www.economist.com/world/na/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3518560)


Why is this?


I think that naked ambition has always been around, especially in times of uncertainty. This moral corruption is understandable if detestable. It becomes more pronounced in times of high uncertainty and fear of job loss. We are living in such times when corporations can move anywhere in the world and set up shop in some low-wage country to boost their profits, discard workers' rights, lessen their tax liabilities and scrap environmental concerns. In addition, importing workers from underdeveloped countries and paying them much less than what US workers are used to is also quite common.If you add the inherent systemic factors such as racial, gender and age discrimination, then what you have is a potent elixir guaranteed to attack the ethical and moral fiber of many US workers who deeply fear the loss of a means of survival and an accustomed way of life. For many people, this drive for success (ambition) goes into overdrive under these circumstances, devil take the hindmost.


It is my contention that ambition, as a culturally-shaped value which gives meaning to our lives ( be it striving for money, love , honor, fame, etc) has warped into something quite ugly and inhumane in our present day globalized landscape. Absent from this natural inclination to achieve some modicum of success and material security is an ethic of compassion and respect for the dignity of our brothers and sisters. I say this not from a religious point of view but from years of observing human behaviour and reflecting deeply on it. I am reminded again and again of Shakespeare's character Macbeth who first started out as a noble individual but his long time ambition to be King corrupted his character making him succumb to greed, violence and power hunger which eventually led to his downfall (and death). Reading about the downfall of the CEOS from Tyco, Arthur Andersen and Enron (amongst others) shows striking parallels to Shakespeare's timeless observation.


So am I saying that ambition is a social evil? Somewhat. The following quote sums up my feeling on this:


"A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea which is higher than himself; and a mean man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way in which a vulgar man aspires."--Henry Ward Beecher
Aspire to be whatever your heart so desires, but restrain the run-away power of ambition
and replace it with self-denial:
"Good breeding is the result of good sense, some good nature, and a little self-denial for the sake of others."-- Lord Chesterfield
Absent of strong labor unions, we are really at the mercy of our employers. Most states in the US have at-will employment contracts which ,eans that employers may legally fire you for just about any reason, no reason or even an unfair reason. That's partially because there are relatively few labor laws that protect workers from wrongful termination and none that generally protect from workplace "unfairness" per se. As a consequence, one should expect to see more and more depraved and nakedly ambitious souls cling on to their turf and step on anyone in their path.


My only advice is to stay humble and level-headed and keep learning/working hard. You may be passed over for a promotion and have to take a back-seat to a narcissistic loud-mouth who knows less than you, but in the end you will achieve a much more fufilling prize: Grace.


:::MME:::