(Note: This is an excellent read, one that you are encouraged to share widely. "In the Soviet Union, a consensus circle is know as a soviet. ")

GOAL: "The goal of the Delphi technique is to lead a targeted group of people to a predetermined outcome, while giving the illusion of taking public input under the pretext of being accountable to the public." (Larry Becraft)

For the Delphi to work, it is critical that the targeted group be kept away from knowledgeable people who could lead them away from the Delphier's predetermined outcome.

(It is OUR GOAL to educate individuals about the process)

Definitions:

consensus - group solidarity in sentiment and belief; unanimity; collective opinion (Webster's Seventh Collegiate Dictionary).

process - a series of actions or operations conducing to an end. Behavior/procedure (Webster's 7th Collegiate Dictionary).

consensus circle - a soviet - the term used for the same process in the former Soviet Union.

systems thinking - sees everything as "wholes" -- as a system, analogous to all other systems irrespective of physical appearance. All things are equal, whether it be the ecosystem or mankind -- man is no better than animal or a tree. (Underlying philosophy is humanism that maintains that man is devoid of spirituality or self-determinism. It there from follows that man must be conditioned (the process) to his environment (the outcome or goals), whatever it is decided that environment will be (creating the future).

"we can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species. While there is much that we do not know, humans are responsible for what we are or will become. No deity will save us; we must save ourselves." - Humanist Manifesto II.

future trends - not based on fact, but rather on the doomsday prophesies of rabid environmental groups whose religious philosophy is very much humanistic/New Age.

Paradigm shift - change of worldview -- from that founded upon Judeo-Christian principles, to one based in humanism

Judeo-Christian world view sees man as an individual creation of God, special in his own right, worthy and valued in his individuality, with rights as an individual. (basis of Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights).

Humanism world view sees man as devoid of spirituality and self-determinism, and must, therefore, be conditioned to his environment, whatever that environment is decided to be in the "created" future.

Humanism believes that individual man is simply part of the greater whole, a mere atom in a larger molecule -- of one mind, one system, what affects one part affects all parts, wholistic or holistic with all parts interconnected and interdependent; the collectivist society.

This can be seen in the cooperative, collaborative learning atmosphere in which children are taught to function as part of the team, not as an individual.

Humanism believes that right and wrong are situational, relative, a matter of perception.

This can be seen in "conflict resolution."

Humanism believes that man is inherently good, that only his experiences and material environment make him a bad person - rejecting the sin nature of man.

Humanism establishes a class society in which an unelected few (the "we") decide the fate of the many -- the true essence of democracy. This is the underlying philosophy of feudalism in which the masses live in poverty to the benefit of the elite at the top -- those deemed the intelligentsia. Such a philosophy finds venue in Russia and impoverished nations where the leaders live in luxury and the masses suffer for the benefit of the collective. It is a world view that oppresses people. But it is not represented that way. It is represented as a philosophy of enlightenment, as freeing man from the constraints of religious doctrine, as democracy, the democratic society, the participatory democracy. What it really does is lead mankind into the oppression of the socialist/communist society under the misguided conception of perfectly equalizing the possession, opinions and passions of all (Federalist Paper #10).

Humanism was the religion of the Dark Ages, a time of great oppression and human suffering. It fragments a society, stealing freedom, liberty and justice from the people.

Vision - what "we" (the unelected few) want the world to look like in x number of years.

1. Society must be assessed as to where they are now as compared to where "we" want them to be -- known as the "gap analysis"

2. "We" must plan how the greater number of people in society are going to be moved from where they are now to where "we want them to be." (know as the "strategic plan")

3. How "we" are going to move society from where they are now to where "we want them to be (implementation plan or action plan).

4. "we" must come up with the goals -- what people must look like and act like, what people must demonstrate master of, in order for them to arrive at where "we" want them to be.

How "we" decide what "we" want the world to look like is the product of the decentralized decision making process or consensus building process using a cross section of the community.

The process has two purposes:

to move people from the Judeo-Christian world view to the humanist world view; and

to make the people believe that the outcome of the meeting(s) is their own idea such that they will embrace the outcome and defend it.

Process of facilitation is an insidious process wherein the individual participants are encouraged to arrive at a group decision that all give input to and all agree to abide by.

Once the individual agrees to play by the rules, he has effectively given over his individual mind to the group in achieving oneness of mind, synonymous with consensus.

This requires that he set his individual values and beliefs aside in the name of relationship building; in so doing creating conflict between group values and beliefs and individual values and beliefs, resulting in the abrogation of individual values and beliefs in behest of those in the group.

Statements from those who advocate "group control" processes:

"Data shows that people change their opinion to conform with group norms." (Delphi Group Process,

http://www.csuohio.edu/hca/hca615/cqisja.htm )

"Judgments are of a selected group and may not be representative" - from a class on how to implement the Delphi and other techniques (from those who are in favor of the process) (emporia)

There are a number of group processes, using slightly different techniques.

Among these are: The Integrative Group Process (GP) (which has been adapted to fit the needs of TQM/CQI team meetings);

the "Nominal group technique";

the Delphi Group Process;

the "Group Communication Strategy,"

"Social Judgment Analysis" which uses the computer as an active participant;

and Cognitive Mapping; the "consensus" process.

These techniques are used in mediation and conflict resolution (in pursuit of the collectivist (wholistic) society -- a term that S. Tharinger uses), among others. The foundational philosophy behind them is the same.

The problem with using a "group process" of any kind is that it disallows individuality, and creates "group think" -- where a "consensus" is obtained from the group, and will most likely be one that is not accurately depicted of the actual thoughts and beliefs of the individual members of the group.

It disallows for individual comment and expression; rather, the thoughts of the individuals are MERGED into a ONENESS of thought.

What is established, via the consensus process, is COVERT AUTHORITY - the same authority that undergirds socialist/communist regimes that justify their existence and governance structure in the collective authority of the people. In the Soviet Union, a consensus circle is know as a soviet.

THE PLAYERS & HOW THEY PLAY

Group Dynamics - people in groups tend to share a certain knowledge base and display certain identifiable characteristics. This allows for a special application of a basic technique.

The "facilitator" - professional change agents, trained in group dynamics and on the intricacies of how to move a group to a present conclusion.

"The job of the facilitator is to make everyone in the group think it's their idea." - Schools for the 21st Century, Final Report, Jan. 1995.

I. Uses 3 Basic Steps to Accomplish the Goal:

A. Learns about the members of the group:

1. Goes through the motions of acting as an organizer, getting each person in the target group to elicit expression of their concerns about a program, project or policy in question.

2. Listens attentively

3. Forms "task forces"

4. Urges everyone to make lists

5. As a result, learns something about each member of the target group

a. Identifies the "leaders," the "loud mouths," as well as those who frequently turn sides during the argument -- the "weak or noncommittal."

B. Turns agitator. The "devil's advocate."

1. Uses "divide and conquer" technique -- manipulates one group against the other

2. Manipulates those who are "out of step" to appear "ridiculous, unknowledgeable, inarticulate, or dogmatic"

3. Desires to have certain members of the group become angry, forcing tensions to accelerate

4. Well-trained in psychological manipulation.

5. Able to predict the reactions of each group member.

6. Individuals in opposition to the policy or program will be shut out of the group.

7. Targets rarely, if ever, know that they are being manipulated, or do not know how to end the process

C. Desired result is for group polarization and for the facilitator to become accepted as a member of the group and group process.

1. Throws the desired idea on the table and asks for opinions during discussion.

2. Soon, his/her associates from the divided group begin to adopt the idea as if it were their own

3. They pressure the entire group to accept the proposition

D. Works on FEELINGS rather than knowledge -- in achieving consensus, it's not what one knows about a subject that matters; it's how one FEELS that is important. Appeals to emotionality to achieve the outcome.

1. The RESULT: The people, as a collective, become accountable for the decision made.

a. This is why, when people have objected to being governed by consensus decisions, they have heard, "but we had the input of the people."

b. What this does is twofold

i. It gives the bureaucracy license to do whatever it wants under the guise of "doing what the people authorized us, via their decision, to do"

ii. It makes the people, not the bureaucracy, accountable for decisions made.

c. The people become at once the scapegoat and the victim.

BACKGROUND

The Delphi Technique is based on the Hegelian Principle of achieving Oneness of Mind.

HISTORY

A. Essence of the Hegelian Principle.

1. Formulated by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher (1770-1831)

a. Rejection of reason and logic

b. Use of subjectivism and relativism

2. "the mind it is the source of all reality; the individual mind is an estranged part of one universal Mind"

3. "can process of the rational a dialectic restores Mind to oneness

4. This "rational dialectic" is basis of Hegelian Principle

B. Rand Corporation developed the "Delphi Technique" in the early 1960s for the purpose of maneuvering segments of the public into accepting predetermined government policies. Based in the Hegelian Principle

1. In the 1970s & 80s, it was used to convince land owners of the merits of accepting general land use planning maps (Ithaca).

The Hegelian Principle:

I. A three-part process

a. thesis: "embodying a particular view or position;"

b. antithesis: "providing an opposing or contrary position;"

c. synthesis: "which reconciles the two previous positions and then becomes the basis of a new thesis."

d. A pathway to continual evolution to Oneness of Mind (the "universal mind" - the "collective". ("You will be assimilated: resistance is futile!" - the Borg, in Star Trek, the Next Generation)

In thesis and antithesis, all present their opinion or views on a given subject, establishing views and opposing views.

In synthesis, opposites are brought together to form a new thesis.

From the synthesis of thesis and antithesis comes compromise. Thus it is that there is no right or wrong answer -- everything is relative, situational.

All participants are then to accept ownership of the new thesis and support it, changing their own views to align with the new thesis.

Through a continual process of evolution, Oneness of Mind will supposedly occur.

The reality is quite different. Only an ILLUSION of Oneness of Mind occurs -- with those who refuse to be Delphi'd being alienated from participating in the process.

Only those who agree with the process are allowed on the "teams." New participants are carefully screened to ensure that the predetermined outcome goes forward unquestioned.

The outcome is preset -- but the "overseers" can say: "We had community input."

Do you feel like you're being processed, like cheese?

Well, You Are -- By Experts!

The Process

1. How It Works

a. Delphi "replaces direct confrontation and DEBATE by a carefully planned, orderly program of sequential discussions." (1)

b. Must obtain a "consensus" - "because individual experts will disagree and we are unwilling to rely on the judgment of a single specialist." (2)

c. "group think" rather than individual thinking

d. "experts" rather than ordinary people

i. "We use an expert because" (3)

ii. "Experts" have "at their disposal a large store of background knowledge and a cultivated sensitivity to its relevance which permeates their intuitive insight." (4)

2. The Plan (in the words of those who use the process) (from Effective Team Work: Group Processes - page 1, www.csuohio.edu/hca/hca615/cqigrp.htm )

a. Manage group's time efficiently. "Without an effective management of time, the group meeting might end before the group's reasoning is understood and documents.

b. The process should use the conflict among the group in a productive fashion. Management of conflict is important because group members often have different background and are likely to disagree with each other. A group process should accommodate some degree of difference among group members.

c. Without effective participation and a sense of ownership, the group's conclusions will have no advocates and in time it will be abandoned, as opposed to improved and used.

d. Group process pays close attention to: management of time, conflict and participation.

3. Steps to Integrative Group Process (in the words of those who favor the "process")

a. Select the best. Choose the group participants and secure their involvement.

b. Meet before the meeting. Develop a list of alternatives and reasons for preferring one alternative to another. Construct this list through telephone interviews or face-to-face meetings with individual group members.

c. Re-do the list. Convene the group, instruct the group members about the process, and arrive at a consensus concerning what should be considered in the decision.

d. Rate the importance of each reason. Ask the group members to individually rate which reason is most important in their decision.

e. Talk about major differences. Identify the sources of conflict by comparing the ratings of importance of different reasons. Ignore minor differences and talk about major differences.

f. Make consensus model. Average small differences, list reasoning in order of importance, show which alternative is most preferred and why, document group's decision and provide the document to each group member. (see "Create a Consensus Model.")

Modeling: Computer simulation model that, according to inputs, predict future scenarios.

"The Limits to Growth," a book by Donnella Meadows, was written over the 20 scenarios predicted by the simulation model. None of the predictions have come true. That doesn't stop the change agents from saying "we must change our ways if we are to save spaceship Earth."

Systems Thinking: the method of achieving and maintaining the planned economy, in which every facet is carefully monitored and carefully controlled, including the human factor. It is a system that does not tolerate deviance from the accepted norm. It is a system that is very much into producing robots that all act and think alike.

Some Techniques Used

g. Public hearing or forum where tables with chairs in circles and are facilitated by a pre-chosen facilitator, instead of chairs set up for the audience with microphones where they can give input.

h. One variation is to use a series of meetings. (See example #1)

i. Another variation is the use of a series of surveys. (See example #2)

Accountability, under systems thinking, is the gathering and analysis of statistical data to measure evolution to outcomes, to insure compliance with the system.

a. Huge data banks house personally identifiable information on every man, woman and child.

a. Computer technology brings in the element of modeling.

b. Coercion becomes a definite factor in achieving the desired outcome in conjunction with the gathering, storage and analysis of statistical data and personally identifiable information on every man, woman and child in the nation.

How to Overcome the Process

1. Don't Play Their Game

a. Educate, educate, educate. Teach others about the Delphi Technique and the consensus process

b. Expose, expose, expose. Don't let them play the game.

c. Refuse to participate in the facilitation process.

2. Start Your Own Game. Disrupt the Process.

a. When participating in public meetings, insist that they be run by Roberts Rule of Order. No consensus circles.

i. It is the elected officials and those accountable to the elected officials who should be held accountable for decisions made.

b. Pressure legislators to dispense with appointed commissions, councils and agencies that are not accountable to the people, and are, via legislation, not accountable to the Legislature.

c. Pressure legislators to return to the limited form of government established by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Such a government limits itself to addressing those structures over which it is given specific authority.

d. Push for judicial reform that removes from the judiciary the right to legislate via interpretations of law that hold no basis in the Constitution.

e. Become involved in the governance of our nation - whether local, state or national.

3. How to disrupt the Process.

a. Always be charming. Smile, be pleasant, be courteous, moderate your voice so as not to come across as belligerent or aggressive.

b. Stay focused. Write down your question to help you stay focused.

i. Facilitators will often digress from the issue and try to work the conversation around to where they can make the individual asking the question look fooling, feel foolish, appear belligerent or aggressive. The goal is to put the one asking the question on the defensive. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS TACTIC. Always be charming, thus deflecting any insinuation or innuendo, and bring them back to the question you asked.

ii. If they rephrase your question into an accusatory statement (a favorite tactic), simply state, "that is not what I stated - what I asked was" (repeat your question). STAY FOCUSED ON YOUR QUESTION.

c. Be persistent. When putting you on the defensive doesn't work, facilitators often resort to long drawn-out dissertations on some off-the-wall and usually unrelated, or vaguely related, subject that drags on for several minutes - during which time the crowd or group usually loses focus on the question asked (which is the intent). Let them finish with their speech, then nicely, with focus and persistence, state "but you didn't answer my question. My question was.. (repeat your question)." (By the way, you might suggest that the time allotment be waived for the number of minutes the facilitator went off-track, as they also use that method to shut down the public.)

d. Never, under any circumstance, become angry. Anger directed at the facilitator will immediately make the facilitator "the victim". The goal of the facilitator is to make those they are facilitating like them, alienating anyone who might pose a threat to the realization of their agenda.

i. If the participant becomes the victim, the facilitator loses face -- and favor -- with the crowd.

ii. This is why crowds are broken up into groups of seven or eight, why objections are written on cards, not voiced aloud where they are open to public discussion and public debate. It's called "crowd control.

e. Have someone else, or two or three others who know the Delphi Technique disbursed through the crowd

i. When facilitator digresses from the question, they can stand up and say nicely, "but you didn't answer that lady's/gentleman's question."

ii. Helps the crowd figure out what's going on.

f. If you have an organized group, meet before the meeting, but not during the meeting.

i. Everyone should know their part. Meet after the meeting to analyze what went right, what went wrong, and why, and what needs to happen the next time around.

ii. Never meet during the meeting. A favorite trick of facilitators is to call a recess when things aren't going their way, then wander around to "spot" the resistors. When the meeting resumes, the facilitator will steer clear of the resistors.

http://www.nwri.org/consensus/the_process.htm