The ideas of cybernetic stability and instability can be understood by imagining a smooth table, whose surface is not flat but is permeated by bulges and depressions. The different points on this surface represent possible states of a society. If a marble is placed within an "unstable" area on this surface (i. e., a slope), which might correspond to a mixed-economy society, it will not stand still; rather, it will follow a trajectory over time that will terminate in the nearest "stable" area (i. e., a depression), which would correspond to a totalitarian society. Note, however, that there may be more than one "stable" area on the table; likewise, we should not conclude that totalitarianism is the only stable social alternative.