Mathias Günther(Wie) Funktioniert unsere Gesellschaft, Herr Luhmann?

Rezension

[...] Dr. Mathias Günther hat mit seinen zwei Bänden zu Grundfragen der Systemtheorie von Niklas Luhmann ein sehr interessantes Werk vorgelegt, das insbesondere für mit der Soziologie bereits vertrauten Leser/innen mit Gewinn gelesen werden kann. Dabei lassen sich die 30 Kapitel in selektiver Weise und in selbstbestimmter Reihenfolge rezipieren. Gerade wer sich angesichts aktueller Diskurse und Debatten in den Medien und der Wissenschaft mit gestärkter Reflexionskraft ausstatten möchte, kann dies durch das Lesen der im Buch versammelten Interviews mit nachhaltiger Wirkung realisieren.

Niklas Luhmann, the most important sociologist of the second half of the 20th century, has, with the construction of an abstract and paradoxical system theory, been able to gain more precise and more profound observations about our society, its function and structure, than a naive observer would be able to do with his everyday thinking without alternatives.

Luhmann’s warning “Beware of too rapid understanding” saves one from disappointment, resignation or anger and is the guiding idea of this book, in which basic problems of our society in politics, law, family, economy, religion, education are discussed in the form of a simultane ously fictitious and real interview with Niklas Luhmann.

Questions posed by the interviewer to Luhmann such as “Does money rule the world?”, “Is democracy the domination of the people?”, “Are mass media lying media? ”, “Is the idea of social progress an illusion? ”, “Does art have to be morally and politically correct? ”, “Are authorities bureaucratic monsters? ”, “What can protest movements achieve? ” are to be answered in a comprehensible way using terms from his system-theoretically based modern theory of society.

Luhmann’s focus is not primarily on the sociologist, as is usually the case, but on the “normal citizen” who is interested in social issues. The fact that such an argumentation requires time may disappoint those who are looking for quick and simplistic answers, but it may inspire others to approach Luhmann’s “cathedral of theory”, not in order to acquire the complex theory in all its aspects, but in order to gradually assimilate Luhmann’s ingenious style of thinking, which questions the familiar, the self-evident, the normal and opens up unusual, even paradoxical perspectives that surprise and irritate.

Ihr Werk im Verlag Dr. Kovač

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