How Consensus Works

Let's explore how we can prefigure more equitable decision-making with consensus.

The list of artists used is in the outro.

Check out Post-Comprehension's video on DEMOCRACY:

Introduction - 0:00
History of Consensus - 2:36
How to Consensus - 5:49
Problems with Consensus - 12:45
Conclusion - 17:03

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Music:
Sun (prod. salmon the ghost)
Rodeo days (prod. Zeus The God x Greg Sekeres)
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Sources & Resources:

[Andrewism]

Hope y'all enjoyed! Check out _Consensus: A Handbook on Formal Consensus Decisionmaking_ for more advice and guidance on the process:

[jceh-art]

ik this is an old video but i also wanna add: for people who feel uncomfortable sharing their concerns with the group, you could set it up so that issues could be submitted anonymously. for example, everyone could write down their thoughts an a small piece of paper, and then they could get mixed and read in a random order. that way, nobody would know who said what unless they came out and said it!

[molotovmafia]

me: that's a great idea!
my social anxiety and conflict aversion: hi

[louisaruth]

among most people who are any fun to be around, the process used to decide what to have for lunch is just informal consensus. hurray! most of us intuitively already do consensus everyday!

[Ibrahim-cqtz]

Haven't had the time recently to look into how consensus works in detail and this video was basically a godsend
Much love from this Nigerian anarchist
Keep up the great work mate

[atticusshadowmore]

Consensus combined with fluid democracy seems like a really good solution to me. Essentially you can give someone ''your vote" and retract it at any time. Your 'representative' will attend consensus meetings on your behalf. This can be because you don't have time to attend every meeting, because you don't really understand the specific issues, or you have no strong feelings. But if there is an issue you really care about, you can still go and speak for yourself. With this a commune of 200 or so people might be able to narrow down their decision makers to the most trusted members of that community, who can communicate and make a consensus.

[ForeignManinaForeignLand]

Bwai, Youtube really doing me dirty w/ the post notifications but mi come for the title and stay cause ya accent. My Caribbean bredren ✊🏿

[hedgehog]

I happen to be the owner of a discord server for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and I've decided to try to implement consensus decision making on it (if everyone agrees obviously). I think it is the best system for a server like this since well potentially things can go very wrong otherwise but also because I think the very act of giving survivors this kinda agency and control is healing.

[wyomingsra]

We use consensus at our meetings. Can confirm: Consensus Works

[aquatictrotsky]

11:48 A note on the facilitator and their role in "keeping discussions on-topic": as an AuDHD person, a very common characteristic of autistic and ADHD neurotypes is an ability to make connections between topics that often appear completely unrelated and feel like abrupt shifts, particularly to people outside of those neurotypes. This can lead to autistic and ADHD individuals with meaningful, insightful perspectives and concerns getting shot down or even ostracized and excluded by allistic and neurotypical people who perceive them as simply "being disruptive" and "going off-topic" rather than asking them to elaborate on the connections they're making and how they relate to whatever topic is at hand. Given that, I feel very strongly that it shouldn't be up to any individual or group within a given space to decide what is and isn't "on-topic"; instead people should be asked for clarification when confusion arises.

[domsusefulstuff]

I am currently binging your content except for breaks to let the lessons sink in. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your incredible mix of practical advice, historically-informed perspective and community-based solutions. The fact that we're from the same region might have something to do with it but I don't want to give that credit for what is mostly due to the work and love you put into your videos. I will probably comment effusively on a lot of them I'll keep this short. Thank you so, so much.

[flax]

I’ve been struggling with this exact thing in a new mutual aid project I’m involved in… thanks for the tips, I’ll spread this knowledge on

[JasonMcCarrell]

All of the groups i led in Uni used consensus, I thought we weren't legitimate, because we didn't use votes, but votes just seemed silly and unnecessary and restrictive. My local community association uses consensus as well, and we use subcommittees to share responsabilities and focus on problems. I haven't seen a conflict yet though... so maybe we'll devolve into voting when that time comes.

It's so good to hear about the power of consensus. I've been rallying for it for over a decade, but it's felt weird, because I haven't had anyone affirm my beliefs until now. Everyone I knew believes either "do what you're told" or "rely on voting" :\ [I'm white and most folks I know are white [and tend to be middle class or better off]... it may say something about the way we do things >.>;;]

[HyperiaPontifex]

My classmates and I are working on a group decision making application for our class project. This helped give me a lot of ideas thank you ☺️

[HotBlasterBot]

I really liked the proposed process of consensus.

[Coggernautt]

I've implemented Consensus on my Discord Server for half a year now, even sharing your video in the rules for people to understand the concept. Monthly Consensus Meetings to ask what people want the group to be and 100% consent vote on leadership. This has eliminated any potential drama since everyone consents to the elected leadership. Though some things are done democratically, so we added the idea of "pausing" a vote. It's a power that pauses the vote at hand to discuss any concerns, despite it having a super-majority.

[BellamyJay]

This is on point. The graduate classes I've attended function this way and they are spaces where everyone learns and I don't exit the class feeling as if I were dominated. I feel *smarter* than I was when I entered the classroom. This isn't to say that this is how every graduate seminar functions but to lend current day legitimacy to what's being said here. For each seminar we read things ahead of time then show up to class to discuss them and create knowledge collectively.

This was a great video.

[Void..]

Family, ya have yet again saved me a ton of time and effort! I have another vid I can point folks to lol Always love hearing things put better than I often end up putting em.
✊👊🖤☮️🥀🏴🌐A///E

[Theballonist]

The first time I encountered consensus decision making it was not set up to succeed. It was with a group of teenagers and it was about what to order for lunch.

There was also no scribe keeping track, so points had to be raised multiple times by the same person.

I walked away with the idea that consensus was a nice idea but in practice leaves everyone hungry and grumpy.

The group building process is integral, knowing who you are working with and why you are aligned together is absolutely critical.

[DiThi]

I was struggling to understand the video at times until I realized it comes with subtitles. I don't know why I didn't think of checking it at the beginning.