Slippery Slope - The Definition of Ambition

[ebacon]

A few days ago I read Federalist Paper #46 and was struck by the way it used the word "ambition". Basically it couched ambitious men as those that don't know when enough is enough.

Today we use the word "ambition" as if it's always a good thing.

This change in definition seems to have an effect on our body politic. For example we, on average, are afraid to tell CEOs and their politician friends, dude, you have enough. Temper your ambition. Saying something like that would quickly be derided as asking the CEO to be lazy.

I wonder how the Tea Party would deal with a leader like Hitler if they were holding their guns, listening to him talk about his ambitions, and hating those moocher Jews. A second amendment would have stopped Hitler my ass.