Societal differentiation makes specialized power codes evolutionarily necessary

Evidence

This approach, which proceeds from interaction configurations, can then be taken over into the theory of societal evolution in the thesis that, as societal differentiation increases, so does the frequency of situations in which, no matter how high the degree of contingency and specialization, transmission of selection must take place if an achieved level of development is to be maintained. In important functional areas, situational congruence of interests no longer occurs frequently enough or with enough specialization for this to suffice. Then the development of a special code for power, tailored to such problems, becomes an unavoidable priority for further evolution. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 607

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Giddens: as societies differentiate, face-to-face trust (‘facework’) becomes insufficient, forcing reliance on abstract expert systems. — connects to: The derivative logic colonizes military strategy and social governance beyond finance — Max Haiven, Cultures of Financialization, 481; Class power operates through hexes of restricted codes, not empirical facts — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1153