Similar to what I expect other reviewers to say, this book is very anti-capitalist, which is good! But I can't help but think of an episode of the Orville, where the characters explained that they don't get paid because they have no need to covet materialistic things, instead, they work for name, recognition, and internal satisfaction. I believe this book is aiming for the same lesson, but just goes about it in a different way.

I am someone who’s very keen on goal setting and personal development, but at the same time, I also like to learn opposing views, which is what drew me to this title. I thought it might run along similar lines to the bestselling book “F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way”, however, Peel’s book is an actual critique of needless ambition, rather than just a load of rambling like the F**k It book.

Peel provides several arguments against ambition, drawing on various areas, including intrapersonal and interpersonal psychology, politics, sociology, feminism, social mobility, and economics. I would describe the book as anti-capitalist, and I would say that it’s quite disempowering in many respects, as you might expect from the title.

His arguments can be summarised as follows. Our desires for a life purpose and social mobility encourage us to be governed by external forces, and this can restrict our autonomy, even when we choose our own purposes. Living under imposed micro-management. Upward social mobility won’t disrupt the sanctity of the class system upon which the class hierarchies are based. Our hobbies and interests become little more than investment strategies. Failure is inevitable, and a source of psychological disinvestment.

There was one thing he mentioned which I do agree with, which is that some of the most valuable “work” has no broader goal besides the maintenance and reproduction of everyday life, and that the things we enjoy most are often the least economically useful, if not wasteful.

In lieu of a conclusion, Peel writes: “A non-ambitious life of aimlessness and economic wastefulness should no longer be limited to those who can afford it.”

This is a good book for anyone wanting to test out their critical thinking ability, or it might be a good read for someone who is looking for an excuse or two to give up on a career path or project.

However, it is not inspirational, and could leave you in a bad mood about having any direction in life other than your grave. That’s why I simply cannot give the book a 4 or 5 star review, but I will give it 3 stars for the sheer audacity of the publishers. I hope my review gets people talking about the ideas in the book, even though the book doesn’t serve as a guide to breaking free of ambition, doesn’t answer whether ambition is natural, and doesn’t propose a suitable way out of capitalist or social mobility culture. An interesting tome indeed, but perhaps save reading it for your retirement. The book did not work on me.

This is a well-written polemic against ambition, examined in the context of neoliberalism's pernicious rhetoric of social mobility and aspiration. Like many Repeater books, it is informed by theory but in an approachable way. Peel is particularly good on the importance of failure and (throughout) on the ironies of having the ambition to abolish ambition. Given unfolding events in the USA it's also a timely book and one to read in the same light as Berardi's recent "Quite Everything" (also published by Repeater). I started off fearing it was an article stretched to book length and ended up wanting more. That probably says it all.