Consensus is a word that means wake up, consent, consent, conformity of opinion, ideas, feelings or impressions.
In politics, consensus means adopting an agreement without taking a formal vote, thus avoiding rejections and abstentions. In an assembly, when a decision is taken by consensus, it is a sign that no objections to the proposed idea have been raised. Consensus guidance is one of the eight main characteristics of good governance.
Within sociology, a consensus consists of an agreement on the norms that should govern the behaviors with regard to the objectives of the system, the distribution of functions, rewards, capabilities, etc. It thus constitutes an aggregating factor, which explains its importance for the existence and maintenance of social balance.
The expression universal consensus, or in Latin, consensus gentium (agreement of the people), is an ancient criterion for validating the truth that expresses an agreement of all men as for an idea or opinion, which comes to be accepted as true just for the simple fact that it is defended by all.
Washington Consensus
The Washington Consensus is a set of standards stipulated in 1989 by the World Bank, US Department of the Treasury and IMF. It consists of 10 rules explained in the text by economist John Williamson. The creators of these measures stated that they were intended to ease the economic development of emerging countries.
Many criticized this consensus, saying that it was a trap designed to prevent some underdeveloped countries from reaching the same level as more developed countries. Another criticism was that the assessments and measures were applied indiscriminately to all countries of a zone, regardless of its size, challenges it is facing or level of development.
In Brazil, the Washington consensus came into effect during Collor de Mello's government.
Mechanical ventilation consensus
The mechanical ventilation consensus is a set of rules and guidelines for action used in the event that a person needs ventilatory support for reasons of respiratory failure.
Consensuses are quite common in the medical field, as they consist of standards of procedures that are chosen for intervention in the case of illness or accidents.