Consensus
= a group decision-making process that not only seeks the agreement of most participants, but also the resolution or mitigation of minority objections and concerns. [1]
See also:
- our own entry on Consent vs. Consensus
Description
Consensus
URL = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus
Consensus has two common meanings. One is a general agreement among the members of a given group or community. The other is as a theory and practice of getting such agreements.
Consensus Decision-making
URL = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making
"Consensus decision-making is a decision process that not only seeks the agreement of most participants, but also to resolve or mitigate the objections of the minority to achieve the most agreeable decision. Consensus is usually defined as meaning both: a) general agreement, and b) the process of getting to such agreement. Consensus decision-making is thus concerned primarily with that process."
Consensus Democracy
URL = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_democracy
"Consensus democracy is the application of consensus decision making to the process of legislation. It is characterised by a decision making structure which involves and takes into account as broad a range of opinions as possible, as opposed to systems where minority opinions can potentially be ignored by vote-winning majorities. It also features increased citizen participation both in determining the political agenda and in the decision making process itself. Some have pointed to developments in communications technology as potential facilitators of such systems.
Consensus democracy is most closely embodied in certain Western European countries such as Switzerland, where consensus is an important feature of political culture, particularly with a view to preventing the domination of one linguistic or cultural group in the political process. The term consociational state is used in political science to describe countries with such consensus based political systems.
The concept of ijma in Islam also addresses state decision making by consensus, albeit by the ulema (Muslim scholars) rather than the population at large."
Discussion
Dave Pollard:
"Consensus is not unanimity, but it is agreement among all members of a group that any concerns or objectives they may have are sufficiently small that they are willing to be bound by the decision. While it is not always an appropriate method for making decisions, it usually works:
Consensus Decision-Making is an appropriate process whenever (a) there is an informed lack of agreement, and (b) there is a collective interest in achieving such agreement.
In other words, it won't work if the group is insufficiently informed to have a rational position on the issue at hand, or to appreciate the essence of any disagreement they might have with others. If you're ignorant of the essential facts, or don't care about the issue, or aren't or don't feel bound by the decision, you can't meaningfully agree to such a decision. And if you've been brainwashed or propagandized to misunderstand others' position, and hence are unable to consider the issue objectively, consensus will likely be impossible. Likewise, if the decision choices are substantively aesthetic, matters of personal taste, consensus decision-making may be the wrong approach. And if the members of the group don't trust or care about each other, attempts to achieve consensus may be fruitless.
Consensus decision-making also won't work if people are so inexperienced in using it that they don't realize the consequences of their decisions. Or if they can (for any of a variety of reasons) be coerced, sweet-talked or 'bought' by others in the group. Or if there isn't enough time (or the group is unwilling to allot enough time) for the process to take its course.
Despite these drawbacks and limitations, this process is getting more and more attention these days. Businesses are increasingly forming as cooperatives and other forms of non-hierarchical 'Natural Enterprise', comprising equal partners who trust many decisions to the most skilled and informed partner, and make the remaining decisions by consensus. The 'wisdom of crowds' uses the collective knowledge of a large group of informed and independent people to make better decisions than any expert or management group could make -- while this isn't a consensus process per se it does use the same 'front end' steps. Enterprises are realizing the value of improving collaboration with those within and outside the organization, and consensus decision-making can be an essential collaborative tool. And as the adversarial legal system collapses under it's own weight, alternative disputes resolution processes that have much in common with the consensus decision-making process are getting increased use.
As our political systems, prone to reducing everything to 'either-or' dichotomies that pit large power blocs against each other or allow the rich and powerful to make undemocratic back-room decisions, fall into disfavour, the consensus decision-making processes that are often used in jurisdictions using proportional representation to negotiate past impasses, are being more extensively studied and used. And as more people tire of dysfunctional centralized systems and establish community-based bottom-up networks and organizations to bring about change, they are finding that consensus decision-making is a very powerful and effective process for such groups." (http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2009/01/16.html#a2313)
10 Reasons why it is important
Dave Pollard:
"Here are my 10 reasons why consensus decision-making will be one of the most important capacities for people to develop and practice in this turbulent century. Think about what's going on in the Middle East, or the disagreements that are hobbling your government, your business, or your community organization, and how consensus decision-making might be a better way, as you read this list:
1. It focuses on differences as learning opportunities, not 'problems': Gathering diverse and divergent points of view, and consideration of the diverse needs of different people and groups, is part of the consensus decision-making process. Rather than focusing on the differences, the consensus decision-making process focuses on using this information to inform the search for a solution, a resolution, that works for everyone.
2. It achieves buy-in and willingness to act, from everyone in the group: Unlike voting approaches that leave the 'losers' licking their wounds and uninspired to help implement the decision, consensus decision-making gives all members of the group 'pride of ownership' in the collectively achieved consensus, and hence is far more likely to be implemented well.
3. It is non-confrontational and non-adversarial: Its objective is to look rationally at the issue, not to provoke emotional responses -- anger, defensiveness, stubbornness. Cooler heads are encouraged and allowed to prevail.
4. It builds connection: As valuable as consensual decision are, the positive connections, relationships and understanding that emerge from use of this process are even more valuable, putting the parties in a good position to work together more effectively in the future.
5. It encourages and facilitates listening skills: The biggest problem with communication, said GB Shaw famously, is the illusion that it has occurred. Many traditional decision-making processes encourage people to articulate and stake out their own positions and not to listen to others'. Consensual decision-making requires effective listening skills, and the more people who practice this, the better off we'll all be.
6. It is a collaborative process, focused on achieving agreement: Collaborative skills teach us to look for what is best for the collective group, not our personal interest. When the objective is agreement rather than 'winning', the energies of the group are directed at finding something that works for everyone rather than staking out personal positions, and the essential skills of negotiation and conversation are learned differently, and more effectively.
7. It is an emergent process, enabling discovery of a shared direction: Many processes we use in everyday life are linear, with a predetermined direction and expected result. In a complex world, understanding of the problem and the solution co-evolve, and we need processes that don't presuppose knowledge of either. Consensus decision-making is such a process, and in this process participants often 'find their direction', and discover it is not what they'd presupposed, and that this direction informs them in making other decisions they are facing. Sometimes agreeing which way you are headed is more important than knowing your destination.
8. It requires and encourages honesty, not posturing or rhetoric: Consensus-building provides no reward for the most skilled, clever, persuasive or articulate speaker. It is up to everyone in the group to draw out and articulate what the least articulate people in the group are trying to say. Dishonesty -- overstating a position, understating a difficulty, or taking a position you don't really believe -- can totally undermine the process and cannot be tolerated.
9. It is a creative process, enabling us to practice imagining what's possible: We live in an age of dreadful imaginative poverty, and achieving consensus often requires the group to think creatively and imagine ways of doing things that will achieve consensus and which may not be at all obvious. The more practice we get imagining possibilities, the better equipped we will be to tackle the challenges facing us in this difficult century.
10. We cannot afford any more of the old, unworkable decision-making processes: Leaving decisions to oligarchies, tyrants, rich and powerful interests, the "free market", bullies, experts, executives and corrupt corpocracies has left our world in a terrible mess, full of war, corruption, ignorance, desperation, suffering, inequality, waste, indebtedness, incompetence, pollution, bankruptcy, violence and oppression. It's time for us to find a better way to make decisions, one that is inclusive, conciliatory, engaging, creative, positive, non-adversarial, honest, responsible, emergent, sustainable, attentive, connected, and supportive of continuous learning. Consensus decision-making is such a process." (http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2009/01/16.html#a2313)
More Information
Recommended by Dave Pollard:
- Summary of Consensus Decision-Making
- Consensus Queries
- Voting Fallbacks articles
- Randy Schutt's Examples of Cooperative Decision-Making Processes
Key Books to Read
Jon Elster, ed. Deliberative Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 282 pages.
Nino, C. S. (1996)The Constitution of Deliberative Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press