Consensus has been mentioned several times in the Elkhorn Acres management discussion as if it were a necessity for any decision to be made. I have been a member of many groups. Some have used consensus, some majority rule, some no formal decision making process at all, and in my opinion consensus is the worst of the lot. Consensus sounds like a nice thing where we work together to come up with a solution that everybody likes. In my experience, however, consensus as a decision making process does two destructive things. First and most obviously, it allows an aggressive dissenter or minority to destroy the group by keeping any decisions from being made. Second and more commonly, it suppresses dissent because the dissenter buckles to social pressure so as not to destroy the group or be forced out. This can be subtle and insidious. I have seen cases where the perceived majority opinion during an attempt to reach consensus turned out not to be the majority at all when a vote was actually called for.

Majority rule allows for dissent to be recognized, respected, and recorded. If there is free and open debate followed by a vote, dissenters usually accept the group decision and can continue on with the knowledge that they have been heard and can be heard in the future.