Theoretical Conversation and Conceptual Transplants Between Economics and Systems Theory: Towards an Interpretative Passe-partout of Functional Systems

Abstract

General systems theory is based on functional differentiation and operational closure, which make autopoiesis possible. However, in the current complex framework, the model proposed by Luhmann seems to need some supplements in order to explain the evolutionary dynamics of world society. While adopting a systemic approach and using its related theoretical tools, the focus is shifted from the inside of a system to its boundaries. The thesis proposed is the integration between the principle of functional differentiation and that of functional connectivity. To prove such an assumption and overcome the limitations of operational closure, the Luhmannian concept of ‘structural coupling’ is used, but theoretical tools borrowed from economics (trade-off, optimal point) are also employed. This interdisciplinary integration makes it possible to argue the shift of the sociological paradigm from ‘functionalism of differences’ towards ‘functionalism of links’. Constitutive and evolutionary dynamics seem to be connected with the optimum combination of the system’s openness and closure and the ability to establish intersystemic communication channels, where the latter determines resilience to the change factors of the environment. And it is this constant disposition to change that enables the reproduction of the social system. JEL: Z Other special topics: (Social System Theory)