What is an ‘Alpha Man’?
By: Thomas P Seager
Tags: Red Pill, Alpha, Leadership, Sexism, Praxeology

What is an ‘Alpha Man’?

The analog to animals is incomplete and confusing

The ‘alpha’ wolf is the dominant male in the pack, who controls the sexual reproductive rights of every individual in the pack. That’s not how human civilization works.

According Red Pill praxelogy expert Rollo Tomassi, there is no term in the lexicon of the manosphere that is more misunderstood than “Alpha.”

There are two reasons for it:

Every man’s ego wants to think of himself as “alpha,” and so understandably men refashion their personal definition of Alpha around their own characteristics, and The term “alpha” is borrowed from zoology (the study of animals), which few men bother to understand, and the analogy breaks down when it is applied in the complex social context of intersexual human relationships.

There will always be women and men who are offended by comparisons between humans and animals, offended by the term Red Pill, offended by the concept of Alpha, and offended by the very idea that men might communicate with one another on the Internet using a specialized lexicon of terms that the uninitiated don’t understand.

This article is not for or about those readers.

Because it is my job to teach engineering leadership and teamwork in the School of Sustainable Engineering at Arizona State University, and there is no topic more timely, more salient, more controversial, in which my students are in need of more guidance, than the role of intersexual dynamics in the engineering workplace, it behooves me to offer some clarity.

In highly socialized animal groups, like wolves and many of the advanced primates, the Alpha male is the most free to do whatever he pleases. Through a complex combination of physical (i.e., potentially lethal) force, social agreements, and political alliances, the Alpha gains autonomy.

What does a male wolf, or gorilla, do with this freedom?

He eats what he likes.

He farts when he wants to.

And he mates with any female with whom he pleases.

This kind of autonomy comes from power, and most of the time we think of power as the capacity to control others behavior. There is some truth to that.

However, in The Myth of Male Power, Dr. Warren Farrell reframes the idea of “power” away from the popular conception as power to control others, and instead emphasizes an understanding of power as control of the course of your own life.

Power requires control over oneself, first

Thinking about power requires understanding that one cannot be Alpha — e.g., self-determined — without:

It is in this sense that the concept of Alpha ports well from the animal kingdom to the more complex, human, civilized context.

The Alpha Man is not the strongest, nor the most domineering, nor the most aggressive, nor the richest, nor the most charismatic, nor the most attractive.

In modern civilization, the Alpha is the man with the freedom to be himself.

Physical strength and fitness can help with that.

A dominant personality, and aggressiveness can help with that.

Money can help with that.

Charisma can help with that.

And physical attractiveness can help with that.

None of these qualities are sufficient to constitute Alpha in men, because they are only the resources with which a man can cultivate his personal freedom.

Ultimately, he must have the courage to apply those resources, take risks, have the courage to be disliked, move on from rejection, maintain his creative energy and sense of humor, and continue to lead a self determined life.

It is not attractiveness that makes a man alpha.

It is alpha that makes the man attractive.

What does this have to do with leadership in the engineering workplace?

Men who carry misconceptions of Alpha as a man who:

gives unconditional orders, or

bullies and intimidates others, or

coerces behaviors from others, or

punishes subordinates,

can be dangerous in the workplace. At best, they are managers who might get a temporary boost in behavior or compliance by generating the fear of reprisal in others. Because they are confusing leadership with Alpha, and Alpha with “domineering,” they may harbor misconceptions about how to work in teams, how to lead diverse groups, and how to inspire others to reach greater creative heights.

When Alpha is understood as freedom over the trajectory of your own life, good leaders will both pursue that freedom for themselves, and empower others to do the same.

It is possible to be Alpha without being in a position of leadership over others. It is also possible to exercise freedom for oneself while intimidating and domineering over others, which can also be Alpha.

Nonetheless, there are additional lessons from zoology that help inform the question of Alpha for human males. For example, according to Frans de Waal, the alpha male in a chimpanzee troop has several obligations:

Maintain coalitions that favor your partners, and disrupt others.

Keep the peace by ensuring disputes are resolved without serious violence, and maintain impartiality.

Provide comfort by empathizing with others in the troop, and console those who have lost status or resources as a result of the dispute.

When alpha bullies fail to perform these duties well, they become vulnerable to political coalitions — i.e., partnerships of lesser males (or females, especially in the case of Bonobo’s) that will overwhelm and depose the alpha asshole.