ABSTRACT
The previous chapters have established the conceptual foundation and main assumptions of Luhmann’s systems theory. This has been rather abstract and deliberately so since Luhmann’s explicit aim is to develop a grand social theory that can account for all social phenomena. It is now time to move to his more specific analyses of modern society. The central claim underlying these analyses is that modern society is characterised by a particular kind of differentiation: it is differentiated into a series of operationally autonomous subsystems that fulfil each their function for society.
