Against Ambition⁠↗

If the lures of Crusoe’s ambition were great, the lures of ambition in our own day are greater still. Crusoe’s ambition could be kindled only by stories. Our own ambitions are stoked by billboards, screens, and Facebook feeds. Never before have their objects seemed so vivid, so close.

an ambition is a desire for greater things that fades with resistance.

Pursuing the things we lack blunts our appreciation of the things we have. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer illustrated this fact by comparing human happiness to a fraction, where the numerator represents what we have and the denominator represents what we hope for. Just as a large numerator will not make a large fraction if the denominator is larger still, so great things will not make us happy if our desires are greater still.

We must recognise that our ambitions are not benefactors who give without taking. We pay for our ambitions with our time, our energy, and our emotional investment, and we draw on limited funds to do so. Every hour spent at our desk is one fewer with friends. Every joule of energy expended in pursuit of a dream is one fewer for family. Nights that could have been restful are dogged by tossing and turning. Days that could have been tranquil are blighted by self-censure and restlessness. At its extreme, ambition compels us to give all that we have.

A $20 bill is put up for sale. Bidding begins at $1 and proceeds in $1 increments. The highest bidder pays what they bid and receives the $20 bill. The second highest bidder pays what they bid and receives nothing. You can try this dollar auction for yourself at your next party. Initially, there might be some apprehension, but someone will soon bid $1. The prospect of a $19 profit is simply too tempting. Another person will bid $2 for the same reason. $20 for $2 is a once-in-a-lifetime deal. But, unfortunately for the bidders, these seductive thoughts will be their downfall. The first bidder will have a choice at this point: back out now and pay $1 for nothing or advance the bidding to $3 for a $17 profit. Of course, he will bid again. But this move will force on the second bidder an analogous choice: back out now and pay $2 for nothing or advance the bidding to $4 for a $16 profit. She will also bid again. This easy choice swings back and forth until it’s no longer so easy. Should the second bidder advance the bidding to $20? She can no longer hope to make a profit, but at least she’ll avoid a loss of $18. However, her $20 bid will put the first bidder back on the hook for $19. He will face a perplexing choice: back out now and lose $19 or bid $21 (for a $20 bill!) and lose just $1. He too will bid again. But the second bidder will bid $22 for the same reason and now there’s no telling where the bidding will end. A professor who auctioned off $20 bills to his organisational behaviour classes reports that he often received bids north of $50 and notes one instance in which the bidding reached $2000.