In the animal kingdom, the alpha male respects the existence of an alpha female who exerts an equal level of control.
There is something even worse than the vulgar comments of Donald Trump; the chorus of voices celebrating said comments and dismissing them as harmless, as acceptable when coming from an “alpha male” such as Trump. In this world in which we’ve cloaked ourselves with political correctness, they say, how could we not forgive, and indeed celebrate, someone who speaks openly and who says what we would all like to say? Who avoids paying taxes as we would all like to do? Who does as well with the ladies as we would want to, who earns as much as we would like to earn, and who insults minorities and those weaker than him as we all do, or would like to do, in private?
The approach was pioneered in Europe by Silvio Berlusconi, who triumphed while openly standing for the values of enriching oneself by whatever means possible, of using power for one’s own personal gain, and of showing off ever younger and more voluptuous women like the trophies of a Latino lover. Aren’t nearly all others — those who preach adherence to the rules in public, only to break them in private — equally corrupt?
Regardless, the notion of the “alpha male” with which British nationalist Nigel Farage, for example, has pardoned Trump warrants further consideration. Neurosurgeon Dean Burnett recently reminded us in The Guardian that the alpha male found in nature is much kinder than Trump. The concept comes from research into primates and refers to the dominant male in a pack. Gorillas and chimpanzees organize themselves hierarchically, placing the strongest and most combative at the top. Some books looking to draw parallels between the behavior of primates and human beings began to use the term “alpha male” to refer to the latter’s society. However, as Burnett warns, that doesn’t make it a correct comparison, merely a common one.
We humans organize ourselves, or should organize ourselves, differently. Leadership has more to do with trust than with strength. We are more complex beings, and that brings into play variables that do not factor into the primate world. For example, these include cooperative and social factors that contribute to success, such as friendship. Above all, in the animal kingdom the alpha male respects the existence of an alpha female who exerts an equal level of control.
Good news for the animals, Burnett tells us, given that the Trump model would not work in the primate world. Sadly, this scientific conclusion is of scant consolation. The only thing that we can do is trust that the men and women of the United States vote with the value of respect firmly in mind and not its opposite, which, in this age of blind populism, seems to roam proudly and without shame.
Excellent translation.