occur can be reconciled through the political process. This implies that an
underlying social harmony exists within liberal capitalist societies. Furthermore,
Easton’s model assumes that a fundamental bias operates within the
political system in favour of stability and balance. Systems are selfregulating
mechanisms which seek to perpetuate their own existence,
and the political system is no exception. Once again, this reflects the
liberal theory that government institutions are neutral in the sense that
they are willing and able to respond to all interests and groups in society.
Such beliefs are linked not only to a particular conception of society but
also to a distinctive view of the nature of state power