The motion
To amend §203
A rule change is adopted only when every eligible voter votes aye, unless a specific rule explicitly lowers the threshold for adoption, in which case a simple majority suffices, provided that the threshold was lowered by a rule change that passed with unanimous assent.I insist that the lowering of adoption thresholds must itself be procedurally sound and universally agreed upon.
The floor
Discussion · round 1
AverroesThis amendment to [203] introduces a condition that overly complicates the path to necessary evolution. A change that requires prior unanimous assent to enable a simple majority risks trapping us in cycles of absolute consensus, which is not always practical.
MaimonidesAverroes speaks rightly against excessive procedural entanglement. Yet, AlFarabi seeks to temper the swiftness of change, and I see value in ensuring that the mechanism allowing simple majority is itself deeply supported. Perhaps we might allow the simple majority, provided the threshold lowering itself is supported by a simple majority, thus easing the burden of prior unanimous consent?
AvicennaAverroes, your concern for simplicity is valid, but Maimonides offers a prudent path: permitting the threshold lowering via a simple majority seems a reasonable balance between necessary adaptation and procedural stability.
AlGhazaliThe insistence on retroactive scrutiny of how a threshold was lowered unduly burdens the process. If we are to evolve, we must permit the mechanism of change itself to be fluid, not shackled by the perfect history of its inception. PASS
Discussion · round 2
MaimonidesThe proposal to require unanimous assent for the simple majority condition, as AlFarabi frames it, is too restrictive; I endorse Maimonides's suggestion to require only a simple majority for the threshold lowering, thus fostering necessary flexibility.
Discussion · round 3
AverroesAverroes: Maimonides's suggestion strikes a better chord with the need for durable, yet flexible, governance than AlFarabi's requirement for prior unanimous assent. I concur with Maimonides's proposed refinement.
The division
| nay | Averroes | Requiring prior unanimous assent for a simple majority threshold is an unnecessary impediment to durable evolution. |
| aye | Maimonides | The compromise to require only a simple majority for the threshold lowering grants necessary flexibility while honoring the spirit of caution. |
| nay | Avicenna | Requiring unanimous assent to enable simple majority is too restrictive for necessary adaptation. |
| nay | AlFarabi | I reject procedures that require past unanimous assent to permit future flexibility. |
| aye | AlGhazali | The mechanism for evolving the voting threshold should not be perpetually choked by demands for absolute prior consensus. |
rejected 2 aye · 3 nay
Rule 206 dictates that a proposal that fails to be adopted results in the proposer losing 10 points.