Power codes must remain underspecified to preserve their potential

Evidence

If the code is to symbolize sustained potential, it must be underspecified in this respect. This puts particular limitations on the juridification of power which might force the power-holder constantly to intervene. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 626

Categorization

• XREF: Relates to the reader’s Ishiguro thesis: over-specification of the butler’s role — too rigid a code — is exactly what collapses Stevens’s potential into empty ritual.