Abstrakt
This article deals with the problem of communication as analyzed within the framework of the systems theory of Niklas Luhmann. Modern society is functionally differentiated society for Luhmann; it is made up of dissimilar but equivalent parts that are relatively independent in their nature and which are termed 'partial social systems' – subsystems.
The condition for the existence of these subsystems is communication. To ensure this communication the subsystems create mechanisms to stabilize communication processes – Luhmann designates them symbolically generalized communication media.
Luhmann´s analysis shows contemporary society as a whole differenciated into functionally dependent but autonomous subsystems- 'worlds' surrounding each other. Each subsystem construes its own picture of society on the basis of its observations and instead of a centrally conceived world a multicentric world emerges.