Ambition in America: Political Power and the Collapse of Citizenship

by Jeffrey A. Becker

Overview

Most Americans admire the determination and drive of artists, athletes, and CEOs, but they seem to despise similar ambition in their elected officials. The structure of political representation and the separation of powers detailed in the United States Constitution were intended to restrain self-interested ambition. Because not all citizens have a desire to rule, republican democracies must choose leaders from pools of ambitious candidates while trying to prevent those same people from exploiting public power to dominate the less ambitious.

Ambition in America: Political Power and the Collapse of Citizenship is an engaging examination of this rarely studied yet significant phenomenon. Author Jeffrey A. Becker explores how American political institutions have sought to guide, inspire, and constrain citizens' ambitions to power. Detailing the Puritans' government by "moral community," the Founders' attempts to curtail ambition, the influence of Jacksonian populism, and twentieth-century party politics, Becker presents an unfolding drama that culminates in a spirited discussion of the deficiencies in the current political system.
This groundbreaking work reassesses the value and role of ambition in politics in order to identify the beliefs and practices that threaten self-government, as well as those that can strengthen democratic politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813145044
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	05/22/2014
Pages:	210
Sales rank:	908,044
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jeffrey Becker is associate professor of political science at the University of the Pacific. He lives in Stockton, California.

Table of Contents

Preface: The Triumph of Ambition and the Collapse of Citizenship? ix

Introduction: The Paradox of Power in America 1

1 The Ambition of Moral Citizens: Belonging and the Limits of the Moral Community 19

2 The Ambition of Interests: American Constitutionalism 39

3 The Ambition of Popular Control: Jacksonian Democracy and American Populism 61

4 The Ambition to Recover Democratic Excellence: Tocqueville and Franklin Delano Roosevelt 75

5 To Flatter and Obey: The Triumph of Ambition 101

6 Keeping Ambition Accountable: A Place for Political Parties 123

Conclusion: The Collapse of Modern Citizenship 143

Acknowledgments 151

Notes 155

Bibliography 175

Index 187

Editorial Reviews

This book asks how a democracy committed to the principle of equality can accept the contributions of those driven by political ambition. What types of ambition are healthy for a democratic regime? Becker seeks answers to those questions from many political thinkers from the Puritans to Franklin Roosevelt, and in so doing makes a significant contribution to our understanding of American political thought and history.

Joshua Miller

A compact but subtle, deeply reflective, and morally sensitive book. Ambition in America concerns itself with the heart and soul of American democracy itself and raises important questions about the meaning of citizenship and the proper uses of political power.

G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair of the History of Wilfred McClay

"A compact but subtle, deeply reflective, and morally sensitive book. Ambition in America concerns itself with the heart and soul of American democracy itself and raises important questions about the meaning of citizenship and the proper uses of political power." — Wilfred McClay, G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair of the History of Liberty at the University of Oklahoma

"This book asks how a democracy committed to the principle of equality can accept the contributions of those driven by political ambition. What types of ambition are healthy for a democratic regime? Becker seeks answers to those questions from many political thinkers from the Puritans to Franklin Roosevelt, and in so doing makes a significant contribution to our understanding of American political thought and history." — Joshua Miller, author of The Rise and Fall of Democracy in America, 1630-1789

From the Publisher