Blackwell Reference Online

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As a term for general agreement between individuals or groups, not only in thought but also in feeling, the word does not only refer to national agreements but also implies common sentiments – sensing together. Consensus exists when a large proportion of the adult members of a society or of its subgroups, particularly a large proportion of decision makers, are in general agreement as to what decisions are required and what issues have to be addressed. Persons or groups who act in consensus have a sense of affinity with each other and are united by affective ties and common concerns or interests. This definition applies, of course, only to an ideal type. In any concrete situation consensus among some will be accompanied by dissensus or apathetic withdrawal among others. Consensus and dissensus are correlative (see D issent ). The term consensus was introduced into the language of the social sciences by Auguste Comte in the nineteenth century; he conceived it as the indispensable cement on which any social structure must rest. He believed that if society was not to collapse into a sandheap of individuals it had to be based on the consensus of a moral community of like-minded and like-feeling individuals. Later social scientists tended to follow in Comte's footsteps while attempting to make his analytical rigidity more flexible. They have stressed, for example, that in no society, ... log in or subscribe to read full text