Definition of consensus - What it is, Meaning and Concept

Consensus is a term that comes from the Latin consensus and refers to the agreement that is reached by consent among the members of a group or between several groups .For example: “There was no consensus and the decision was postponed until next week” , “The government seeks a consensus with the opposition to establish new economic policies ", " There is a broad consensus among club leaders to renew the technician's contract ".

A decision by consensus , therefore, is one that is made thanks to the agreement of a majority but, in turn, trying to minimize the level of conflict with the minority.This means that a decision taken by the majority does not always imply a consensus, since it can undermine the minority's opinion.

The consensus does not require the active consent of all the Involved: it is enough for those who oppose the decision to mitigate their rejection and tolerate dissent.Thanks to consensus, a society can achieve social peace and harmonious coexistence.


On a historical level, one of the events that became one of the greatest and best examples of political consensus was the Spanish Transition, established at the end of the decade of the 70s.And it is that during it the agreement took place between the different parties, of very different ideologies, of working together to get the country out of the dictatorship in which he had been immersed for several decades.


In this way, their consensus led to measures such as the creation of the 1978 Constitution, which reflects the different realities of the nation and which has become the supreme norm of the legal order.of that territory until today.


However, it is important to underline that before creating that document, what has been known as Pacts of the Moncloa was carried out.Under the umbrella of that denomination, different collaborations, agreements and consensuses are included between the existing political parties as well as with the workers 'unions and with the employers' associations to get Spain afloat.Specifically, with all this, what was done was to determine the introduction of various economic, social and political measures in the face to get the country to move forward steadily.


Within the scientific field and even at the social level there are also consensus that have as a clear objective to establish agreements for the environment to which they are referring.


If leaders do not seek to build consensus, the outbreaks of violence are more likely, since groups that do not share the decisions of the authorities will feel that their rights are not recognized and will have a greater tendency to the conflict.

The lack of consensus is the dissent or dissent , which consists in not apparently adjusting to others.The dissent does not always mean a confrontation, since it is possible to adapt the behavior or attitude towards a general well-being.

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