Power’s symbolic code enables its cumulative differentiation through societal evolution.

Evidence

The difference between the generalized code and the selective communication process will constantly be with us in what follows. The symbolic generalization of a code, according to which expectations can be formed, is a prerequisite for the differentiation of power as a specialized medium capable of being related to particular combinations of problems; it produces certain actions and is subject to certain conditions. Further, the generalized media-code contains the starting points for cumulative development in the course of societal evolution. From these points of view, power is of interest for the theory of society. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 610

Categorization

• XREF: The claim that the code, not particular power-holders, drives cumulative evolution echoes how Giddens’s expert systems (codes) accumulate beyond any individual’s facework — a structural parallel worth developing. — connects to: Power can be conceptually unified across agents, systems, and effects — Philip Pettit, Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and…, 395