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Consensus Decision-making/12 people to use their power to persuade without deception, coercion, or malice, using truth, creativity, logic, respect, and love. Majority rule voting process and parliamentary procedure both accept, and even encourage, the use of power to dominate others. The goal is the winning of the vote, often regardless of another choice which might be in the best interest of the whole group. The will of the majority supersedes the concerns and desires of the minority. This is inherently violent. Consensus strives to take into account everyone's concerns and resolve them before any decision is made. Most importantly, this process encourages an environment in which everyone is respected and áll.contributions are valued. The most democratic decision-making process . . Groups which desire to involve as many people as possible need to use an inclusive process. To attract and involve large numbers, it is important that the process encourages para ticipation, allows equal access to power, develops cooperation, promotes empowerment, and creates a sense of individual ten sponsibility for the group's actions. All of these are cornerstones of Formal Consensus. The goal of consensus is not the selec tion of several options, but the development of one decision which is the best for the whole group. It is synthesis and even lution, not competition and attrition. Formal consensus works better when more people participate!. · Consensus is more than the sum total of ideas of the indra viduals in the group. During discussion, ideas build one upon the next, generating new ideas, until the best decision emerges. This dynamic is called the creative interplay of ideas. Creative ity plays a major part as everyone strives to discover what is best for the group. The more people involved in this coopera tive process, the more ideas and possibilities are generated. Consensus works best with everyone participating. .
