Alpha Male-doom

If Alpha males are defined as the leaders, where does that leave the rest of us?

Alphadom in primates and humans is about having the most opportunities at reproduction for yourself, and minimizing those of all other males. There is evidence from the chimpanzee world that Alphas are less aggressive in keeping related males away from the babes than they are with unrelated competitors. That tells us it's all about the genetics, passing along as much of your DNA as possible, as well as the very similar DNA of your brothers and cousins.

In short, Alphas are Alphas because they want, and get, more babies.

In our world matters are more subtle. The reason we aren't like the chimps is because we have complex language. That has, in turn (or coincidentally, depending upon who you read) allowed us to stop being foragers and settle in increasingly abstract communities, starting with multiple family groups, and ending with Calcutta.

Important point: the reason we can live in cities without the Alphas taking us back to the law of the jungle is because language allows males to work together for the good of the society. One way of imagining this is to think of chimps as having a really steep sex-power gradient between the most powerful Alpha and the lowliest male. In human co-operative societies, that gradient is significantly flattened; the lowest male still has a decent shot at reproduction, and won't likely be cock-blocked by the local Alpha.

So in western societies in particular, we're all Alphas now if you define your 'world' closely enough. In a family of man, woman, and immature children, the identity of the Alpha male is obvious. But how useful is it for this regular guy to think and behave like the biologically defined Alpha?

I contend it's time for a new paradigm, a new way for guys to be Alpha-ish without the conflict and aggression of the animal Alpha that lives in our DNA. I think it can be done.