The Keys to a Civil Society: Consensus  

Oleh:

Pearlman, Bonnie ; Smith, Melinda

Jenis: Article from Bulletin/Magazine
Dalam koleksi: English Teaching Forum (http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives.html) vol. 38 no. 2 (Apr. 2000), page 1-7.
Topik: Civil Society; Consensus
Fulltext: The Keys to a Civil Society.pdf (248.56KB)

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This is the last article in the Forum's four-part series on issues that help define or promote a civil society. For the purpose of this article, the term "civil society" describes a community, organization, group, culture, nation, or the general public at large, and the role it plays in its own self-determination. The first three articles in this series covered Diversity (vol. 37, 2), Tolerance (vol. 37, 3), and Respect (vol. 37, 4). We explored the fact that diversity is all around us in many forms such as age, ethnic background, gender, and culture. We examined our own tolerance toward the diversity we face, and we considered our willingness to show consideration, appreciation, and respect for the differences among us. This article looks specifically at the issue of consensus and seeks to answer the question: How can a diverse group act constructively to make unified decisions? Consensus, according to Lawrence Susskind, Director of the Consensus Building Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an agreement that meets the key needs of all stakeholders involved in a decision-making process. In his introduction to the book Consensus Building Handbook, Dr. Susskind states that consensus building involves a good-faith effort to meet the interests of all stakeholders. Consensus has been reached, he says, when all parties agree that they can live with a given decision and that every effort has been made to meet the interests of all involved parties. This process is significantly different from the voting process, in which decisions are made by majority rule. The goal of consensus building is to generate broad support for a decision, plan, project, or point of view. In most cases, the process begins by seeking unanimity, but ends when there is evidence that the proposed agreement goes as far as possible toward meeting the interests of all who are involved.

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