Quote Originally Posted by Gelatinous Cube View Post
Nobody is anything until they are put in a group. Alpha is relative to the group you're in, and your relation to the others in that group, and your willingness to be submissive to the needs of the group or assertive about your needs from the group. Nobody is just "Alpha" or "Beta" but if I drop you into a room with four dudes and shut the door, some of you will be more Alpha than others.
Four betas in a room will function better than four alphas in a room. That's what civilisation is, with a monolithic alpha state whom no-one can challenge. Civilisation rests on the realisation that alpha isn't necessarily the be all and end all, and beta isn't necessarily a bad thing. Constitutional monarchs are a way of having a single alpha who doesn't do anything, so that no-one else can challenge for that status and thus upset everyday life.