Functional Subsystems

Before we can approach organizations as a theme, we need to look at the conditions under which modern organizations work. The epoch which is normally called ‘modernity’ is characterized by differentiation. Society is divided into a range of different systems that each specializes in the management of a vital function. Hence we call them functional systems.1 They form the semantic frameworks within which organizations work. Economy, politics, science and art are prominent examples of functional systems. A functional system is oriented towards one and only one value, so the list of functional systems is also a list of the most important values in modern society. Each of them creates a world of its own and measures success and failure by its own value. That is why we speak of the ‘world’ of art or the ‘world’ of economy. Functional systems are organized not in a hierarchy but as parallel entities. They are not geographically delimited but include the entire world society in a single dimension. None of them represents all of society and none of them is applicable as a model for society at large. A society that is solely economic or solely aesthetic would be a nightmare. When subdivided into many functional systems, each with their point of view, it becomes senseless to speak of society as a whole. There is no place in society from which society as a whole can be observed and described. Economy only pertains to economy, politics only pertains to politics, and the same applies to science, law, technology, education, religion, etc.