RE: consensus vs. rules enforcement
From: truddick (truddickearthlink.net)
Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 15:05:25 -0700 (PDT)
-----Original Message-----
Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 11:50:44 -0400
From: Sharon Villines <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>

>On Apr 30, 2006, at 5:52 PM, Hans G. Ehrbar wrote:
>> Does this mean that we have to forget about all that touchy
> >feely consensus stuff, since there is no alternative to a
> >policeman knocking at your door?

>How did you get from sanctions to dropping consensus? Wouldn't
>sanctions, or I would prefer to call them consequences of choices,
>would be decided by consensus in a consensus community?

Well, let's consider:

Consensus is the condition where there are no prohibitive objections to an
action or a policy.  Now, I know that many of our communities operate as
though this definition were not true; there are many who think that there
must be procedures in place to deal with an individual or group "blocking"
consensus-as though it's something that MUST happen.  But that's not a
process to reach consensus, it's a process where the majority rules-e.g., a
democracy, not consensus.

Consensus comes from the word "consent".  If everyone in the community
consents to a particular policy, bingo!  You have consensus.

Now, when an individual decides, for whatever reason, that s/he has serious
objection to a decision-then consensus has ceased to exist.

It raises the spectre of a chaotic system of malleable policies and
procedures, where anyone may be ruled by nothing and anarchy becomes the
rule of the day.

It seems that, once consent is given, it should be withdrawn by a formal
process rather than by defiant behavior.  Such a procedure would permit
those who found a policy onerous to get timely relief without failure to
consider the feelings and needs of others.

There's a balance that needs to be reached, and absolutist beliefs don't
help in reaching it.
___
  !    _    Thomas E. "TR" Ruddick
  !   !_)   Nunquam Vadis Levis!
      !  \




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