Consider the Alpha male: big, broad shouldered, good looking, and smart. Other men just naturally look up to him. He gets their full attention; he’s a natural leader.

Alpha-ness is a kind of neutral power, like electricity. Sure, tyrants and gang leaders have it. But alpha’s aren’t automatically bad guys. One idea, an oldie but goodie, is Chivalry: the idea that the strong should use his powers for good, and particularly to protect the weak. “Might for right” — remember Camelot?

Why can’t a nobility of Male Feminists to be our Perfect Gentle Knights? Advancing kindness. Spreading civility. Generosity. When a lesser man behaves badly, Mr. Knightly will take him aside and remind him that actions have consequences. When a young man curses or is disrespectful, Mr. Knightly will consider it his gentlemanly duty to correct him– mildly. But if some creep on the bus is groping women or children, the creep should end up with a broken arm!

When the Alpha sets standards, other men will follow. Why can’t 100,000’s of years of male evolution be put to work for altruism? Rather than greed or war? The problem is that men in general have lost their sense of the common good. It’s not about which male winds up with the most money, or the most hardware. It’s about which man can imagine the Best, model it, and inspire other men to try it too.