• Systems theory has followers across many fields but has had a checkered history in sociology (Baecker, 2001).

• Without the work of Niklas Luhmann, a German social thinker, systems theory would have little presence in sociology.

• Luhmann worked on developing systems theory (which he preferred to call “system theory”) for over two decades until his death in 1998.

• Though less well-known, Kenneth Bailey (1990, 1994, 1997) has also contributed notably to the development of systems theory.

• Luhmann’s work was largely ignored for years, but has gained increasing global recognition recently.

• This chapter focuses mainly on Luhmann’s thinking in systems theory.

• Before discussing Luhmann, the chapter covers early ideas from Walter Buckley’s Sociology and Modern Systems Theory (1967).

Sociology and Modern Systems Theory

Gains from Systems Theory

• Buckley addresses what sociology gains from systems theory:

• Systems theory, derived from the hard sciences and applicable to all behavioral and social sciences, promises a common vocabulary to unify these sciences.

• It is multileveled, applicable to both largest-scale and smallest-scale, as well as objective and subjective aspects of the social world.

• Systems theory focuses on the relationships among many social aspects, opposing piecemeal analyses and emphasizing the context of the whole.

• Systems theorists reject treating society or large-scale components as unified social facts, focusing instead on relationships or processes at various levels within social systems.

• Buckley defines a system as a complex of elements or components causally related in a stable network over time (Buckley, 1967:41).

• Richard A. Ball’s conception of General Systems Theory (GST) highlights a relational orientation: reality consists of relationships among relationships, avoiding reification (Ball, 1978:66).

• GST demands sociology to develop the logic of relationships and conceptualize social reality in relational terms.

• Systems approach sees sociocultural systems primarily in process terms, especially as networks of information and communication.

• Systems theory is inherently integrative, combining large-scale objective structures, symbol systems, action, interaction, consciousness, and self-awareness (Buckley).

• Ball supports the integration of levels, viewing the individual and society as mutually constitutive fields connected through feedback processes (Ball, 1978:68).

• Systems theory criticizes sociological tendencies to impose analytical distinctions (e.g., between personality, culture, and social systems) when these distinctions can be misleading or untenable (Buckley, 1967:101).

• Despite this criticism, analytical distinctions are acceptable within systems theory if they enhance understanding of interrelationships among social life aspects.

• Systems theory views the social world as dynamic, focusing on sociocultural emergence and dynamics in general (Buckley, 1967:39).

Some General Principles

• Buckley analyzed the relationship among sociocultural systems, mechanical systems, and organic systems, focusing on their essential differences.

• A continuum exists from mechanical to organic to sociocultural systems in terms of:

  • Complexity of parts (least to most)

  • Instability of parts (least to most)

  • Degree to which parts are attributable to the system as a whole (lowest to highest)

• On some dimensions, differences among these systems are qualitative, not just quantitative.

• In mechanical systems, interrelationships among parts are based on energy transfer.

• In organic systems, interrelationships rely more on information exchange than energy.

• In sociocultural systems, interrelationships are even more based on information exchange.

• The systems differ in how open or closed they are to their environment:

  • Mechanical systems tend to be closed

  • Organic systems are more open

  • Sociocultural systems are the most open (though Luhmann disagrees with this last point)

• Openness relates to:

  • Entropy: tendency to run down or decay (common in closed systems)

  • Negentropy: tendency to elaborate structures and grow (common in open systems)

• Sociocultural systems tend to have more tension built into them than mechanical or organic systems.

• Sociocultural systems are purposive and goal-seeking because they receive feedback from the environment to help move toward goals.

• Feedback is crucial in the cybernetic systems theory approach to social systems, allowing for dealing with friction, growth, evolution, and sudden changes.

• This contrasts with the equilibrium approach (e.g., Parsons), which tends to focus on stability rather than change.

• The openness of social systems to their environment and environmental impact is central to systems theorists.

• Two critical internal processes affect social systems:

  • Morphostasis: processes that help the system maintain itself

  • Morphogenesis: processes that help the system change and grow more elaborate

• Social systems develop increasingly complex mediating systems that intervene between external forces and system actions.

• These mediating systems can be:

  • Autonomous and independent

  • Determinative of system actions

  • Allowing the social system to become less dependent on the environment

• Mediating systems perform various functions such as:

  • Allowing the system to temporarily adjust to external conditions

  • Directing the system from harsh to more congenial environments

  • Enabling the system to reorganize its parts for better environmental adaptation

Applications to the Social World

• Buckley (1967) applied systems theory specifically to the social world, starting from the individual level.

• He was impressed by Mead’s work, where consciousness and action are interrelated.

• Buckley recast Mead’s ideas in systems-theory terms: action starts with a signal from the environment to the actor, which may be affected by noise.

• When the signal passes through, it provides information that allows the actor to select a response.

• The actor’s key mediating mechanism is self-consciousness, described in systems theory as internal feedback of the system’s own states.

• This feedback allows comparison with other information from the situation and memory, enabling goal-directed selection of actions that consider the self and behavior.

• To Mead, symbolic interactionists, and systems theorists, consciousness is integral to action and interaction, not separate from them.

• Despite this integration, Buckley moved from consciousness to the interactional domain, seeing patterns like imitation and response as fitting a systemic view.

• Buckley linked the interpersonal realm directly to the personality system, viewing them as mutually determinative.

• He then analyzed the large-scale organization of society, focusing on roles and institutions as systemic and related to other social levels.

• Buckley outlined general systems theory principles applied to the sociocultural domain:

  • Tension is a normal, ever-present, and necessary aspect of the social system.

  • There is a focus on the nature and sources of variety within the social system.

  • Emphasis on tension and variety makes the systems perspective dynamic.

  • The selection process at individual and interpersonal levels sorts alternatives available to the system, adding further dynamism.

  • The interpersonal level forms the basis for developing larger social and cultural structures through exchange, negotiation, and bargaining.

  • Despite dynamism, there is recognition of perpetuation and transmission processes that produce relatively stable accommodations and adjustments.

• There are notable similarities between systems theory and the dialectical approach, despite different origins and vocabularies.

• Similarities include a shared focus on relations, process, creativity, and tension.