Wandering Between the Logic of Social Systems and the Search for Meaning

As Luhmann, Bognár leaves no doubt that he sees the ecological crisis not simply as a social crisis, but as a crisis arising at the boundaries of the social system and its natural environment – that is as a disturbance in adaptation. The question is whether the description of these “disturbances” based on Luhmann is valid. Bulcsu Bognár’s paper convinced me that the chosen theoretical framework (the description of society based on Luhmann’s system theory) is rooted in the confidence that emerged in the West after World War II and is unsuitable for describing the events of the 21st century full of crises. Basically, I sought answers to three questions: (1) Whether the robust social systems that flourished after the Keynesian Revolution, at the time of the social democratic consensus and the welfare state, are still so robust and functional? (2) How long can modern societies endure the loss of meaning due to systems disconnected from people’s experiences and personal interaction? (3) How does a fundamental system change happen?