“Ambition” means the systematic pursuit of achievement and of constant improvement in respect to one’s goal. Like the word “selfishness,” and for the same reasons, the word “ambition” has been perverted to mean only the pursuit of dubious or evil goals, such as the pursuit of power; this left no concept to designate the pursuit of actual values. But “ambition” as such is a neutral concept: the evaluation of a given ambition as moral or immoral depends on the nature of the goal. A great scientist or a great artist is the most passionately ambitious of men. A demagogue seeking political power is ambitious. So is a social climber seeking “prestige.” So is a modest laborer who works conscientiously to acquire a home of his own. The common denominator is the drive to improve the conditions of one’s existence, however broadly or narrowly conceived. (“Improvement” is a moral term and depends on one’s standard of values. An ambition guided by an irrational standard does not, in fact, lead to improvement, but to self-destruction.)
“Tax Credits for Education,” The Ayn Rand Letter, I; 12, 1
Deb Ross presents Rochester Family Newsletter July 8, 2010 | rochester.kidsoutandabout.com posted at KidsOutAndAbout.com, saying, "My weekly newsletter goes out to 9000 parents in Rochester, NY. My goal is to infuse ideas of reason and freedom into what I write, in a charming way that will raise few objections but will make people think. This week's commentary is about the laissez-faire attitude that is more common in the Rocky Mountains than in the East, so I thought it worthy of submission to the Round Up."
Jared Rhoads presents Twead #3: Mitt Romney posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, "A recap of Twead #3 on the healthcare chapter of Mitt Romney's book, No Apology."
Rachel Miner presents Back From Vacation and... the Game! posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, "I can't remember where I first heard about this game, but it was a delight during my recent vacation. I share some pics and a review of Rush Hour Jr."
C.W. presents INFLATION, WHERE? posted at Krazy Economy, saying, "This is an open question, where is inflaiton? What are people seeing in their own experience?"
Paul McKeever presents Run from the Rahn Curve posted at Paul McKeever, saying, "here is another essay - and an accompanying video - to help Objectivists more easily to grasp what is wrong with libertarianism; why it is at odds with reality, reason, and rational selfishness."
Shea presents Minicon Talks! posted at Shea's Blog, saying, "These are the recordings of the lectures I gave at the Atlanta Objectivist Society's Mini-con over July 4th weekend."
Ari Armstrong presents Where Do Rights Come From? posted at Free Colorado, saying, "In this short video, I briefly summarize false theories of rights and sketch the natural rights theory advocated by Ayn Rand."
Alyssa Smudzin presents Henna posted at Sanguinity, saying, "An introduction to my summer money making venture: Henna Body Art"
Zip presents Attempting to Have His Cake and Eat it Too posted at UNCOMMON SENSE, saying, "Perhaps if young Jeremy was so opposed to the government's policies he should have discovered the backbone to stand for his principles before he became the governments artistic whore, not after."
Diana Hsieh presents Reminder: Pledge for an Op-Ed by Paul Hsieh in Top-Tier Newspaper posted at NoodleFood, saying, "Do you want to support Paul Hsieh's tireless fight against socialized medicine? You can help him publish in a top-tier national newspaper with your pledge!"
Joseph Kellard presents The Boss Is Dead: Long Live the Yankees! posted at The American Individualist, saying, "My thoughts on the legendary and controversial New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, on the day he died of a heart attack at 80."
Michael Labeit presents An Epistemological Problem with Anarchism posted at Michael Labeit at EconomicPolicyJournal.com, saying, "My refined argument against libertarian anarchism"
Amy Mossoff presents The End of OCON posted at The Little Things, saying, "I wrote a few reports from OCON last week. This one sums up my feelings about the incredible people I spent time with there. The culture of Objectivism, especially the sense of purpose and ambition, was, as always, one of the best parts of the conference."
Amy Mossoff presents Vacation Values posted at The Little Things, saying, "Some amusing thoughts on the difference between vacations prior to having children, and vacations taken away from one's children."
Paul Hsieh presents More Objective Law in Arizona posted at NoodleFood, saying, "An Objectivist lawyer helps move the law of self-defense in the right direction."
Jeff Montgomery presents Mount Columbia Hike/Run posted at Fun With Gravity, saying, "This post is about a recent hike on one of Colorado's high peaks, with photos."
Rational Jenn presents Grocery Store Math posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "Using math as a tool, and a weapon for distraction! Sometimes I'm a stealth homeschooler. :o)"
Jenn Casey & Kelly Elmore presents Podcast #8: Praise versus Encouragement posted at Cultivating the Virtues, saying, "Our most recent podcast features a Mommy WIN! (keeping her temper in the car), a discussion on the differences between praise and encouragement, and a listener question about the role of uncles and aunts in a child's life. Thanks for listening, and we'd appreciate your feedback--write a review on iTunes, or leave us a comment!"
David C Lewis, RFA presents Investing: Against The Odds? posted at A Revolution In Financial Planning, saying, "Are the odds really stacked against investors? Why does the average mutual fund investor only earn less than 4%, even with proper asset allocation?"
Doug Reich presents Liberal Despair Over Obama, Taker of the Ham Sandwich posted at The Rational Capitalist, saying, "A "debate [is] raging within the progressive community over why the promise of Obama’s candidacy has not lived up to their expectations." This post analyzes the philosophy underlying one liberal commentator's 17,000 word take."
Earl Parson presents OCON, OhomoCON, and 10 Days in Las Vegas posted at Creatures of Prometheus, saying, "This is probably one of many in the carnival - it's my wrap-up from OCON. It's more of a personal memoir than anything else, from the best week ever spent of my roughly 41 1/2 years on the planet."
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Thanks for hosting! Love the quotation at the beginning!
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