You’d think it should be up to each individual to decide.
As a JW, you just don’t appreciate the level of control, and the lack of consultation in decision making, until you have experience of other religious organisations. The other organisation that most closely resembles the JWs for lack of participatory decision making in my experience is the Iglesia ni Cristo.
I remember one time at the KH the local body of elders announced a proposed purchase to the congregation and asked for any comments and questions before taking the vote. Instead of the usual perfunctory agreement as is normal in these situations, some people in the congregation, including sisters, actually asked real questions about the purchase and called it into question. Sensing that the vote might not go his way, the elder panicked and another elder took over the meeting, withdrew the resolution, and said they would return to issue at a later date. The elders convened an emergency meeting and the following week they ‘apologised’ to the congregation for the ‘way the matter was handled’. This time they made it clearer that the elders recommended the purchase and were not really inviting an open discussion about the issue. The congregation took the hint, they had a vote, and the vast majority agreed the purchase. But what I found interesting in the whole episode was how ready and willing ordinary members were to offer their opinions when they believed they were being honestly solicited. For some reason, the congregation had managed to forget a lifetime of training that participatory decision making has no place in the organisation, and acted as if the congregation as a whole was being invited to make a decision.
