Symbolic definition and coercion both constitute state social control
Evidence
That is true, at least, for the situation in which this happens. Nemo ad praecise factum cogi potest (No one can be compelled to do something), goes the old saying, applied to legal judgments. Physical coercion can thus not simply be understood as the ‘last resort’ on a scale of increasing pressures. Rather it has a much more general meaning in relation to the symbolically generalized power-code in that it mediates the relationship of the symbolic to the organic level and does so without involving other, non-political function systems, such as the economy or the family. In this way it becomes possible to differentiate power which is specifically political – always with the proviso that the power itself does not ‘degenerate’ into physical coercion. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 700 (
#expands, via linked claim)
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
Related
- Legitimacy and physical force are symbolically interlinked, not opposites (similarity 0.82)
- Physical force achieves effects largely free of symbolic preconditions (similarity 0.79)
- Complex societies institutionalize power to make coercion possible. (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Symbolic systems do double duty as communication and as instruments of domination.
#corroborates(0.75) - Physical force mediates power’s symbolic and organic levels, differentiating political power
#expands(0.72) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 700 - Social control includes winning consent, not just coercive punishment
#complicates(0.70) - Hegemony is rule achieved through consent rather than coercion
#corroborates(0.65) - Situation-level symbolic transactions can influence society’s broader reproduction
#expands(0.55) - British social regulation shifted from consent to coercion in the early 1970s
#exemplifies(0.50) - Psychological isolation rather than physical locks is the main method of coercion
#exemplifies(0.50) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 513