This basic theory has been elaborated by modern writers into a pluralist
theory of the state. Pluralism is, at heart, the theory that political power is
dispersed amongst a wide variety of social groups rather than an elite or
ruling class. It is related to what Robert Dahl (see p. 223) termed
‘polyarchy’, rule by the many. Although distinct from the classical
conception of democracy as popular self-government, this nevertheless
accepts that democratic processes are at work within the modern state:
electoral choice ensures that government must respond to public opinion,
and organized interests offer all citizens a voice in political life. Above all,
pluralists believe that a rough equality exists among organized groups and
interests in that each enjoys some measure of access to government and
government is prepared to listen impartially to all. At the hub of the
liberal-democratic state stand elected politicians who are publicly accountable
because they operate within an open and competitive system. Nonelected
state bodies like the civil service, judiciary, police, army and so on,
carry out their responsibilities with strict impartiality, and are anyway
subordinate to their elected political masters.