The alpha male inside every male

Deep inside most men is a desire to be an alpha male.  An alpha male is the male perceived as the most powerful male in a group.  It's completely unreasonable to actually be the most powerful male in every group, but inside, our genetic programming constantly pushes us toward this goal.

While I was vaguely aware of my immature attempts to show up as an alpha male (friendly teasing with friends, being competitive in various situations, being conscious not to appear weak), the dominance hierarchy concept, when I learned it, brought all the pieces together.  The dominance hierarchy is the arrangement of a social structure based on perceived strength/power.

If we look at social animals, there are always hierarchies based on perceived strength/power.  The most relevant example is chimps, our closest relatives.  The alpha chimp is the chimp perceived to be the most powerful in his group - often this means he is the strongest as he has the ability to physically defeat his rivals.  The alpha chimp gets all the best resources.  He gets the best food.  He gets the best female chimp(s).  He gets the best tree.  Other male chimps on some level are subservient to him.

On the flip side, the chimp at the bottom of the dominance hierarchy gets food last.  He gets the worst tree since all the other chimps higher on the chimp totem pole got to pick trees first.  He generally gets last pick of females as female chimps have an instinct to mate with the male(s) who can protect them the best.  The male(s) who can best protect the females is by definition the male(s) perceived as more powerful within the group.

This alpha male programming is millions of years old.  Every animal that has to protect its resources has had to fight to protect those resources.  This includes, mammals, reptiles, birds, crustaceans, fish, etc.  For millions of years, the brains of the genetic predecessors to humans used the dominance hierarchy as a means of survival because the dominance hierarchy defined a creature's breeding, shelter, and food availability.  Being high on the dominance hierarchy is a survival instinct written into our DNA.  It's not a choice.  It's not an option.

If we put the dominance hierarchy and the need to be an alpha within one's own context into Maslow's hierarchy of needs, it fits into several different levels.  It fits into safety needs (a creature low on the dominance hierarchy cannot protect its resources - example: bully taking lunch money).  It fits into the belongingness and love needs (a creature low in the dominance hierarchy has fewer mating opportunities and is generally viewed less favorably by members of the group - example: socially awkward nerd).  It fits into esteem needs because the less control one has over his environment, the less perceived power he has. And since being alpha is perceived power - on a level that may not be conscious, the man is perceives himself as weak (example: a man not respected by his peers).

The alpha male desire in (most) men is a base need.  It's genetic programming as old as the  fight/flight response.  It's nature, not nurture.  There are many other behaviors that spring from the quest to be at the top of the dominance hierarchy that I will go over in subsequent posts.  The crucial aspect for this post is that this drive is built into us.  This base physiological drive pushes us in a myriad of ways.  When we align our attitude and behavior with our nature, something deep inside us clicks on.  Fighting against our nature is like swimming against the current.  It's inefficient and energy wasting.  There are healthy male behaviors and attitudes that fit our biology.  When we ignore our biology, our pre-programmed instinctual drives, men suffer and the world suffers.