A theme in Macbeth that is applicable to both politics and every day life is unchecked ambition. Macbeth's out of control desire for power ends up consuming his life. This same theory can be applied to people who want success but don't want to work or wait for it.
In every day life there are people who will sacrifice their integrity, or break the law to get a jump on acquiring a level of power or money that they must have immediately. They engage in immoral or illegal behavior to acquire material wealth and position. In many cases, just like in Macbeth, the individual who falls into this temptation, had a successful, stable life, but the need for more, the desire becomes overwhelming, the rewards are great, the method of acquiring more seems easy.
Macbeth believes that his plan to murder King Duncan will secure his wearing of the crown, he does not consider the cost or the consequences. Just like tax cheaters or insider trading, people think only of the benefit but not the cost.
Macbeth was successful, rewarded for his bravery and his loyalty to King and country. He had a good life before he acted on the impulse ignited by the witches prophecy. He had a nice home, a loving wife, a successful career, everything that makes a person happy. It was when he started to reach for that which he did not earn or deserve that he ran into tragic consequences.
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