Are you a maverick or a conformist?

Consider the possibility that humanity is divided into three types of people: conformists, who represent the vast majority; a relatively small number of mavericks (unconventional and independent human beings who do not think or behave in the same way as most people); and psychopaths.

As a civilization rises, the mavericks lead by default. They are the creators of new knowledge, they discover new opportunities, they explore both geographically and intellectually. However, as bureaucracy increases over time this enables the psychopaths to slowly take control. The bureaucrats, typically the most fearful subset of conformists, are uniquely vulnerable to manipulation and recruit easily to the psychopath’s cause.

The psychopaths are evil and seek dominion via the propagandising of the conformist majority.

Without conformity, the temporary order of civilisation would not be achieved. A society composed entirely of mavericks would be too chaotic; a society entirely formed of psychopaths would be hell. The flaw is the vulnerability of the conformists to the psychopath’s weapon of choice: propaganda. Once propagandised, the conformist becomes the unwitting tool of the psychopath who then systematically removes all their natural support structures – religion, community and family, that flourished during the maverick period. The psychopaths and the conformists essentially merge until the inevitable collapse of their unworkable dystopia. The maverick remains unmoved by the psychopath’s propaganda throughout. Immune in many ways.

What then distinguishes the maverick strain from the propagandised conformist element of psychopathic society?

1. Humility: the more humility you have, the more freedom you have. The maverick is certain of one fact: that when confronted with various aspects of the universe, he knows nothing. It is this mystery of creation that freedom can work with. A maverick craves freedom in the same way a conformist craves safety.

2. Freedom: the maverick understands that freedom is fundamental. Everything flows from this first principle, even love requires it. Freedom is the continuous unfolding of unpredictable reality; they are one and the same. The conformist seeks ever greater forms of reductionism – creating huge machines to search for ever smaller particles or ever more complex intellectualising in order to break continuous reality into discrete ‘fundamental’ pieces. He believes that these pieces can then be arranged to match his desires. The irony of course is that he only succeeds in building a prison that confines his consciousness in a hall of infinite mirrors.

3. Courage: the only aspect a maverick fears is the loss of his/her freedom, while the fearful conformist will seek control in the shape of bureaucracy and centralisation. The latter is a clear manifestation of cowardice. The maverick surrenders into the vast sea of unknown, into the Will of God, knowing the conformists’ dream of control is an illusion.

4. Awe: the continuous emergence of beauty stops the maverick in his/her tracks. While the conformist will attempt to extract, intellectualise and compartmentalise beauty, the maverick seeks to dissolve himself/herself into the sublime.

5. Detachment: the maverick is both present and detached at the same time and capable of astonishing focus of his/her attention. The conformist is either entirely individualised, that is lost in ego, or subsumed in the majority – incapable of independent thought.

6. Trust: the maverick doesn’t require a contract in any circumstance when dealing with another maverick. Trust is implicit and breaking that bond would be against their own firm principles. Conformists need a contract for everything because they don’t trust themselves or each other. When confronted with the corruption of conformist society, the maverick questions everything.

7. Humour: the maverick laughs along with God while the conformist plans. The maverick sees the comedy in everything, paradoxically this doesn’t make light of tragedy but rather enriches it, transforming the inevitable iniquities of life into something else entirely: growth and depth.

8. Autonomy: a maverick cannot be ruled. He/she is simply incapable of submitting his/her will to another. Paradoxically this makes him/her a more reliable partner in cooperation. Because his/her involvement is entirely voluntary, he/she can commit entirely without resentment. The conformist on the other hand is regularly compelled to cooperation – this leads to bitterness and distrust.

9. Self-reliance: the maverick seeks only from others what they would give voluntarily. He relies entirely on his/her own initiative, resources, capabilities and way of attending to the world. The maverick avoids demanding that which he/she has not worked for. Paradoxically this makes him/her a great receiver of gifts. The conformist, however, frequently suffers from a sense of entitlement, believing that the society owes him/her something in exchange for his/her submission. The conformist grows ever more depressed as his/her hierarchical society sucks more and more of his/her soul away which leads to an ever greater sense of entitlement.

10. Love: because the maverick is free to connect with the beautiful adventure of life, he/she is only a step away from the love that floods us and simultaneously surrounds us at any given time. He/she knows that once you give in it will never let you go. The giving and receiving of love become one and the same. Incapable of letting go, the conformist builds ever more barriers to love making it ever harder for the light to find him/her.

One final thought on the mavericks: they are in danger. The conformists will seek to marginalise, ridicule, censor, imprison or even kill them.

yogaesoteric
January 20, 2026

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