<P> For all these reasons power cannot be taken for granted . One has to observe it empirically in order to know who really governs . The best way to do this, pluralists believe, is to examine a wide range of specific decisions, noting who took which side and who ultimately won and lost . Only by keeping score on a variety of controversies can one begin to identify actual power holders . Pluralism was associated with behavioralism . </P> <P> A contradiction to pluralist power is often cited from the origin of one's power . Although certain groups may share power, people within those groups set agendas, decide issues, and take on leadership roles through their own qualities . Some theorists argue that these qualities cannot be transferred, thus creating a system where elitism still exists . What this theory fails to take into account is the prospect of overcoming these qualities by garnering support from other groups . By aggregating power with other organizations, interest groups can over-power these non-transferable qualities . In this sense, political pluralism still applies to these aspects . </P> <P> Elite pluralists agree with classical pluralists that there is "plurality" of power; however, this plurality is not "pure" as some people and groups have more power than others . For example, some people have more money than others, so they can pay to have their opinion put across better (i.e. more advertising) than the working class can . This inequality is because society has "elites"; people who have more power, perhaps through money, inheritance or social tradition than others . </P> <P> Basically, it claims that elites play a big role in decision making . The idea behind reads as follow: in democracies the people participate in electing the elites who will represent them and, at the end, the ones who are going to make the laws . As Davita S. Glasberg and Deric Shannon highlights, "political elites are not a monoholitic, unified interest group representing their own narrow group of interests but rather are diverse, competitive elites representing a wide range of interests". They have to compete in "the political market place" in order to gain voters being the power equally distributed between all the potential voters . Moreover, the stability in the system is achieved through this competition among the elites, as they have to negotiate in order to pass a bill . And, sometimes, they have to change their positions and points of view in order to reach a common point . Elites respect and follow the policy - making procedures because they are accountable of their acts and they can be replaced through legal procedures of through new elections . </P>

Classical pluralist and neo-pluralist perspectives of the state