Luhmann’s Functional Subsystems of Modern Society—
The Character of Horizontal and Vertical Relationships
More details
Hide details
1
Pázmány Péter Catholic University
Publication date: 2013-06-25
Polish Sociological Review 2013;182(2):137-152
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
This study focuses on one of the basic questions of Luhmann’s social theory relating to the
description of modernity, namely, on the characteristics of subsystems and, even more specifically, it is
aimed at gaining new recognitions concerning the relationships between subsystems. To do this, the study
starts with sporadic comments in Luhmann’s late work indicating historical and current inequalities between
functional subsystems that are characterised in essence by a coordinating structure. Supplementing these
recognitions by new arguments, the study concludes that besides the horizontal relationships, a variety of
hierarchic (vertical) organisation forms also develop under the conditions ofmodernity. The dynamic of the
subsystems is also affected by external irritations of unequal weights and frequencies of occurrence which,
though not necessarily overwriting the autopoiesis of the various subsystems, definitely influences the
importance of the various subsystems in the process of social communication. The other part of the study
points out—by analysing the organisation’s system level among other aspects—that vertical segmentation
is a characteristic of the entirety of sociality besides the horizontal structure. Consequently, the study
concludes that the description of modernity in Luhmann’s social theory is in need of some adjustment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This publication was supported by the TÁMOP 4.2.1. B-11/2/KMR-2011-0002 grant of the European Union and the Hungarian Government