Whither the Contented? Tocqueville and the Fate of the Unambitious in Democratic Times.
Historically, ambition has been considered a vice, if not a crime. Through an invocation of Alexis de Tocqueville's reflections on "democratic ambition" this paper argues that the modern age has not only done away with this disapprobation, a particular sort of ambition is not only permitted, it is d...
| Publicado en: | Perspectives on Political Science Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 93 - 106 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jul-Sep2023
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=164618486&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 164618486 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 10457097 PPS jtl: Perspectives on Political Science issn: 10457097 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jul-Sep2023 vid: 52 iid: 3 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 164618486 10.1080/10457097.2023.2192632 ppf: 93 ppct: 13 formats: tig: atl: Whither the Contented? Tocqueville and the Fate of the Unambitious in Democratic Times. aug: au: Avramenko, Richard Rolsma, Benjamin affil: Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA su: Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859 Communities Well-being Ambition Argument sug: subj: Communities Well-being Ambition Argument Tocqueville, Alexis de, 1805-1859 ab: Historically, ambition has been considered a vice, if not a crime. Through an invocation of Alexis de Tocqueville's reflections on "democratic ambition" this paper argues that the modern age has not only done away with this disapprobation, a particular sort of ambition is not only permitted, it is demanded. The paper thus asks two central questions: 1) how can we understand ambition in the democratic age and 2) how should we think of those who do not cleave to the demands of democratic ambition—i.e., those who refuse to be eaten up by the incessant longing for material well-being? We make the argument in three parts, each part focusing on a different implication of the necessity of ambition in democratic times. First, we highlight the danger of ambition unrestrained. Second, we explore how Tocqueville thought the most egregious ramifications of democratic ambition will be ameliorated, namely by the effects of land, commerce, and community. And, third, we explore the fate of the contented—i.e., those who deviate from democracy's requirements for ambition—both those who cling to aristocratic ambitions and those who are insufficiently ambitious for material improvement. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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