Consent Governance One-Pager

How free souls decide together — without voting anyone into a corner.

One page. Everyone in a Community Company should read it on their first day. It is the single rule of play that makes self-governance work. Referenced from Steps 1, 4, 5, and 6.

The Core Distinction: Consent, Not Consensus, Not Majority

Majority vote asks "who has more?" — and creates a losing minority every time. It divides.
Consensus asks "do we all love it?" — and stalls forever waiting for enthusiasm. It exhausts.
Consent asks a different, faster question:

"Does anyone have a reasoned, paramount objection?"

A proposal proceeds the moment no one holds an objection that is both reasoned (you can say why) and paramount (it would genuinely harm the body or its purpose). You do not need everyone to love it. You need no one to have a serious, explainable reason it would cause harm.

This is how one member, one voice. The agreements govern. Elders are respected becomes practical.

How a Decision Is Made (the loop)

Propose. Someone offers a clear proposal. (Good enough for now? Safe enough to try?)
Clarify. Questions for understanding only — not yet agreement or objection.
React (optional). Quick round of responses.
Test for objections. Go around: "Any reasoned, paramount objection?"
Integrate. If an objection surfaces, the proposer and objector together adapt the proposal to resolve it. The objection is a gift — it makes the proposal stronger.
Decide. No objections remaining → consent reached. Record it. Act.

What Counts as a Valid Objection

✅ "This would break a commitment in our Field of Agreements." ✅ "We cannot afford this and it risks the Commons." ✅ "This excludes people we exist to serve."

❌ "I'd personally prefer something else." (a preference, not an objection) ❌ "I don't love it." (consent does not require love) ❌ "What about an even better idea?" (offer it as a new proposal)

Two Safeguards That Keep It Honest

Good enough for now, safe enough to try. Most decisions are reversible. Decide, act, learn, revise. Do not seek the perfect decision; seek the next workable one.
Every decision has a review date. Consent is not forever. Set when you will look again. This lets people consent to trying something they are unsure about.

When Consent Stalls

If a paramount objection genuinely cannot be integrated, the proposal does not pass — and that is the system working. Take it to your Elders for counsel, or back to the Field of Agreements. The body is protected. No one was outvoted; no one was steamrolled.

Free to enter. Free to leave. Bound only by what we have freely agreed.