Symbolic generalization lets power operate without explicit orders being given

Evidence

Symbolic generalizations make it possible to shift partially the process of the transmission of reduced complexity from the level of explicit communication to the level of complementary expectation and thereby to take some of the pressure off the communication process, which is timeconsuming, clumsy and crudely served by language. The anticipation by the power-subject then runs on two levels. It relates not only to the reactions of the power-holder if his wishes are not fulfilled, thus to the avoidance of alternatives, but also to the wishes themselves. The power-holder does not even have to give orders, for even his unordered commands are already followed. Even the initiative to give the order can be shifted onto the subject, if, when the order is not clear to him, he asks what the order would be. Explicit communication is limited to an unavoidable residual function. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 647

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines how ‘symbolic generalization’ offloads complexity from explicit communication to complementary expectation — a core Luhmann concept.
• XREF: Directly anchors the Stevens analysis: the butler anticipates Lord Darlington’s wishes without orders, shifting initiative onto the subject — exactly the dynamics at play in Ishiguro’s novel. — connects to: The concept is a formative power, not an empty receptacle — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel: Plasticity,…, 208; Hegemony does not turn definer inputs into predictable outputs