Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: consensus versus majority vote

[R.N. Johnson (cohoranda]

The more you involve a group in decisions, the more buy-in you have from 
community members.  Quicker decision making methods such as majority voting do 
not have a high degree of buy-in.   Some communities allow "majority Vote' in 
committees or for non crucial decisions that people have strong opinions about 
like what kind of cake to serve, what color to point the common house bathroom, 
but stick to consensus for the important issues.  The process of hearing 
everyone's opinions, and  adjusting  a proposal until all involved can live 
with it helps build community between members. While consensus has its 
drawbacks, it makes for much stronger community than majority rule.
Randa Johnson