Preprint | From Spaceship to Lifeboat: Artemis II and the Radicalisation of a Planetary Perspective

Abstract: This article examines the semantic shift from Spaceship Earth to Lifeboat Earth in contemporary planetary discourse. Taking recent rhetoric surrounding the Artemis II mission as its point of departure, it argues that the description of Earth as a “lifeboat” marks a significant radicalisation of an older metaphorical field. Whereas the Apollo era helped naturalise the image of Earth […]

Release | Ideological Repurposing of Institutions of Higher Management Education: Historical Lessons and Contemporary Imperatives

Abstract: This article examines the ideological repurposing of institutions of higher management education (IHMEs) from a systems-theoretical perspective. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems, we analyse both historical and contemporary cases to identify structural similarities in how institutions of higher education (IHEs) have been reoriented to serve external political imperatives. Through a functional […]

Release | Special Luhmann Conference double issue of SRBS on “Environments” and “Guiding distinctions”. Observed with social systems theory

Special Luhmann Conferences 2023 and 2024 double issue of Systems Research and Behavioral Science on “Environments” and “Guiding distinctions”. Observed with Social Systems Theory The proofs of the full special double issue are available for download here (PDF 8.2 Mb), while the issue is also available on the official SRBS website. Luhmann Conference 2023: Environments: […]

Release | The state as creative destroyer. A systems perspective on entrepreneurship by organised monopolies on violence

Abstract: This article explores the concept of state entrepreneurship, particularly focusing on its darker aspects when states act as creative destroyers. This study employs a systems-theoretical approach to develop a comprehensive framework for understanding the nature of statehood and its role in driving disruptive innovation. The research design includes an analysis of cases of state-mandated […]

Release | Rainmaking: Observed with social systems theory

Abstract: This article examines contemporary efforts to control climate change through the lens of social systems theory, particularly by drawing comparisons to rain dances and shamanic rituals. It argues that modern climate control strategies bear functional similarities to archaic rituals aimed at influencing weather patterns, despite the absence of direct causality. Using Niklas Luhmann’s concepts […]

Release | Spaceship Earth. A total institution

Abstract: The concept of Earth as a planetary spaceship serves as a root metaphor of ecological economics, sustainability science, and the broader environmental movement. This article first explores the origins of this metaphor and elucidates the core components and functions of a hypothetical Spaceship Earth. It then draws on Erving Goffman’s characteristics of total institutions […]

Preprint | Spaceship Earth. A total institution

Release | Special Issue | Simulation and dissimulation

Virtual Special Issue of Futures on Simulation and dissimulation Edited by Steffen Roth, Jari Kaivo-oja, Kristof van Assche, and Harry F. Dahms Introduction Steffen Roth, Jari Kaivo-oja, Kristof van Assche, and Harry F. Dahms: Expressions of untruth, suppressions of truth. A 21st century reintroduction to “Simulation and Dissimulation” Abstract: In this article, we explore the […]

Workshop | Spaceship Earth. A total institution

Popularised in the 1960s, “Spaceship Earth” has become a metaphor for the vision turned imperative that all inhabitants of planet Earth be harmoniously united in the mission to preserve their planet. In this talk, I shall draw on works by Niklas Luhmann, Michel Foucault, and Friedrich August von Hayek to argue that fashionable “missionary theories” […]