Introduction --;Social systems --;Observing systems --;The functional differentiation of modern society --;Consequences of function differentiation --;Power and politics --;Conclusion.
Offers an introduction to the sociology of Niklas Luhmann. This book presents the key concepts in Luhmann's systems theory, including social systems, autopoiesis, self-reference, and second-order observation. It also introduces to his analysis of modern society as differentiated into a number of distinctive function systems.