Abstract: This paper revisits and refines Niklas Luhmann’s framework for understanding social differentiation, addressing unresolved ambiguities in his original theory. Luhmann’s approach, which initially identified three core forms of social differentiation—segmentation, stratification, and functional differentiation—expanded to include a fourth form, centralization. By critically examining the theoretical underpinnings and limitations of Luhmann’s distinctions, this study shows […]

Read More Release | The matrix reloaded. A revised framework for the inference of the four basic forms of social differentiation