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Ambition
Topic: Some think that ambition is a good quality. Is it important to be ambitious? Is it a positive or negative characteristic?
Model answer:
The rise of the one percent and accumulated capital has led many people today to question the basic value of raw ambition. In my opinion, though ambition has historical importance, it is a largely negative trait for most of society today.
Ambition’s value lies in pushing forward human progress. Some of the best evidence of this comes from advances in science. Galileo was a determined astronomer, willing to doubt ingrained dogma in order to propagate his heretical view and we owe the basis of our understanding of the planetary system to him. A more recent example would be discoveries like penicillin and vaccines in the 20th century that were all the result of highly ambitious, driven individuals whose legacies endure to this day. Without their aspirations, human civilisation would have stagnated.
However, ambition for its own sake hurts society. When ambition is severed from passion and ethics, it becomes the raw engine of political and economic greed. A good example of this would be the rampant speculation fueling Wall Street. Most employees at large brokerage firms are ambitious in terms of moving up the ladder and making more money for their clients but have little concern for the consequences of their actions. Reckless investment spurred on by greed was one of the underlying causes of the sub-prime mortgage scandal that led to a global financial crisis in 2008 during which millions of homeowners and investors lost their retirement savings. Unchecked, ambition will always tend towards excess and society will always be left to reckon with the aftermath.
In conclusion, ambition is a crucial drive behind human civilisation but it is not a positive force on its own. It is important for parents and educators to serve as good role models to inspire children to check ambition with conscience.
