In Die Politik der Gesellschaft, Niklas Luhmann rethinks political theory through the lens of his sociological systems theory. Written near the end of his life, the book presents a radical departure from traditional political philosophy by analyzing politics not as a moral or normative domain but as an autonomous communication system within the broader functionally differentiated society.

1. Politics as a Subsystem of Society

Luhmann does not treat politics as the center of society or as a state-based structure. Instead, he frames it as a functionally differentiated subsystem, similar to law, economy, science, or education. It operates with its own code (“government/opposition” or “power/no power”) and internal logic, not reducible to external values or moral claims.

2. Power as a Medium of Communication

Central to Luhmann’s theory is the idea that power is not a substance or capacity held by individuals, but a generalized medium of communication. Like money in the economy or truth in science, power helps reduce complexity and facilitate decisions in conditions of uncertainty. Political power functions by transforming indeterminacy into structured expectations.

3. Political Decision-Making and Operational Closure

The political system is operationally closed: it processes only political communications, though it is structurally coupled with other systems (e.g., economy, media, law). Decision-making in this system does not aim at truth or justice, but at producing collectively binding decisions that stabilize expectations within society.

4. Legitimacy and Communication

Rather than grounding legitimacy in moral foundations or consensus, Luhmann argues that legitimacy arises from the systemic functionality of political communication. Procedures, elections, and organizational routines provide the structure through which decisions become acceptable—even without agreement on content.

5. Political Evolution and Complexity

Politics evolves through increasing complexity, reflexivity, and structural differentiation. This includes the rise of public opinion, mass media, parties, bureaucracies, and organizations. The political system must constantly manage its paradoxes: for example, that sovereignty implies the ability to make decisions while being embedded in a network of constraints and feedbacks.

6. Critique of Traditional Political Concepts

Luhmann critically re-examines core political concepts—such as state, sovereignty, representation, and democracy—not as fixed essences, but as semantic tools developed in historical contexts. He suggests replacing them with system-theoretical descriptions that better capture the functional role of politics in modern, complex societies.

7. Society and Politics

Luhmann warns against conflating society with the state. Modern society is too complex to be governed from a single center. Politics must be understood as a system within society that manages inclusion, coordination, and decision-making, but it is neither sovereign nor all-encompassing.

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Conclusion

Luhmann’s Die Politik der Gesellschaft offers a profound shift in how we understand political power, legitimacy, and decision-making. By placing politics within a broader theory of social systems, he dismantles traditional philosophical notions of the political and proposes a new, functionally grounded theory of political communication in modern society.

Source:

Luhmann, N. (2000), Die Politik der Gesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.