Against Ambition
The Radical Potential of Giving Up
by Bill Peel
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Pub Date 20 May 2025 | Archive Date 23 Jul 2025
Repeater Books | Repeater
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Description
Explores the effect that capitalist ambition has on our psyches and societies, and what a world without ambition might look like.
Against Ambition examines the psychological and societal impact of capitalist ambition and imagines a world liberated from its pressures.
For readers interested in social criticism, capitalism’s influence on personal identity, or alternative views on productivity and success, Against Ambition offers a powerful challenge to the “cult of ambition.”
Against Ambition examines the psychological and societal impact of capitalist ambition and imagines a world liberated from its pressures.
- Critical Exploration of Ambition: Analyses how ambition became the dominant force shaping our lives since the 1980s, pushing us to view success as solely our responsibility—and failure as our fault.
- The Cult of Capitalist Success: Bill Peel critiques how capitalism turned ambition into an endless cycle of "rise and grind," passive income pursuits, and corporate competition, pushing us into self-sacrificing, goal-oriented lives.
- A Call to Reimagine Life Beyond Ambition: Argues that relentless ambition undermines collective action and turns individuals into isolated social climbers, hindering efforts to create a more equitable world.
- Radical Freedom in Letting Go: Advocates for a life freed from constant self-improvement, valuing the right to "waste time" as a radical act against neoliberal values.
For readers interested in social criticism, capitalism’s influence on personal identity, or alternative views on productivity and success, Against Ambition offers a powerful challenge to the “cult of ambition.”
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781915672032 |
| PRICE | US$16.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 208 |
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