What Exactly Is Consensus?
Consensus is a decision making process which equalizes power over a group of people. Instead of simply voting for an item, and having the majority of the group get their way, the group has to sit down and get a solution to a problem that EVERYONE is ok with. People take different ideas and we see how we feel about them. The solution that the group thinks is the most positive gets chosen, unless a member of the group finds the solution totally unacceptable. Consensus is based o comporomise, and the ability to find common ground.

Why Would We Want to Use Consensus?
Consensus is a system that promotes participation because each person has the power to make changes in the system, and to prevent changes that they find unacceptable. People are often inactive because they feel that they have no power in the system and their voice won't be listened to. (Isn't that why so few people vote in most industrial democracies?). Imagine if corporations has to have consensus from a community to build a plastic factory near them, or an incinerator. Shouldn't this be what happens regularly?

Since consensus would give everyone power to have their voice be heard, it would force people to listen to each other, and answer their concerns instead of moving past them.

But's What's Wrong with a Majority Rule System?
The majority rule system is set up to have a winner and a loser. This promotes conflict, and lends itself to steamrolling an idea over a minority that dissents with the majority opintion. People in a majority rule system don't need to listen to the dissenting minority, or take their opinion seriously because they can simply outvote them. Majority rule systems say that the majority is infallible and they have nothing to learn from the minority. There is no moral system at work with a majority rule system, and there is nothing to say that the majority of people will come up with a morally acceptable system. (I mean, didn't the majority of colonial Americans support the ``right'' to hold slaves?).

But We Wouldn't Be Able to Accomplish Anything!
Well, this isn't exactly true. Using consensus based decisions the Iroquis nation managed their lands and people very effectively. More recently, the Zapatista network in southern Mexico has been using consensus decision making with everyone 16 and over participating. Any proposal by the Mexican Gov't has been endlessly discussed by each small village in the Zapatista network until everyone agrees. The decision to wage war, and then continue after the Mexican Gov't made some initial concessions was done consensually with a 98.2% approval.

Consensus has also been used at 300 person anti-nuclear protests, and during all sorts of activities. It is an all-inclusive form of decision making that everyone can walk away from comfortable and satisfied with the outcome.

Be Honest, What Are the Bad Things About Consensus?
Since it is a lengthier process to hash out ideas until all objections are resolved, your group meetings might be a bit longer and some proposals might regularly take more than a week to decide. Also, since some proposals may be just shot down without hope of compromise, consensus sometimes favors the status quo.

Note: Can't remeber where I found this document but I know the authors won't mind. It's Amazing How Much You Can Do When You Don't Care Who Gets the Credit!