Being alpha instead of beta is one of the pillars of red pill idealogy. But it's a little ambiguous sometimes. Or maybe I'm the only one who sees different layers to this dichotomy. I think most people agree that alpha/beta is on a spectrum, everybody is a little bit of both, but it's a bit confusing which direction the poles point.

1 - Social Hierarchy:

Here is the origination of the term 'alpha' or so I've heard, the wolf pack sort of thing. It's very simple. The lead wolfe is called the 'alpha'. In social animals, there's a dominance hierarchy where a few dominant males are in charge. The few at the top are the alphas, the many at the bottom are the betas.

2 - Approval Seeking:

Here's a way my friend explained alpha/beta to me, how he gets it at least, which made a lot sense when I thought about it. Basically the alphas don't give a fuck, while the betas seek approval from others. It sort of coincides with the dominance hierarchy but not exactly. On one hand, the betas - that is the plebs, or the normies, NPCs, lemmings - these are the many, the sheep who follow the trends. This lines up with the dominance hierarchy.

The beta guys are simps to women because they are seeking approval from them. But when you think about it, they are actually simps to everybody. They literally have a mind of their own, but not really. Their thoughts and actions and opinions adapt to their surroundings of people.

The alpha is not like this, like I said, he just doesn't give a fuck. People might like him or might hate him. He's either a trend setter or an outcast. Where he stands in the social hierarchy depends exactly on whether the betas follow him or not.

3 - Easy going vs controlling:

This is a type A vs type B personality difference. How these letters correspond to Alpha and Beta is perhaps not coincidence.

Women want a man who is strong and assertive rather that some jelly filled donut. She wants to feel feminine next to her man who is supposed to take the lead and make most of the decisions while she follows along and looks pretty.

Thoughts:

The red pill I think encompasses all these layers when we talk about alpha/beta, the context of the conversation depending. I do think there is a lot of overlap between them. But also sometimes a bit of abiguity. You can reach the top of the social hierarchy while being a total normie; or a control freak and a complete dick who everybody avoids, women included.