Functional differentiation as ideology of the (neo)colonial society

• Published in: Thesis eleven Vol. 143; no. 1; pp. 70 - 81
• Main Author: Gonçalves, Guilherme Leite
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.12.2017; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Colonialism; Decolonization; Democracy; Differentiation; Discourses; Equality; Ideology; Inequality; Luhmann, Niklas (1927-1998); Marxist analysis; Neocolonialism; Postcolonialism; Power; Social development; Society; ideology; neocolonial society; Occidentalism; functional differentiation

This article discusses the ideological character of the notion of functional differentiation. According to Luhmann, the development of worldwide social differentiation (that is, the rise of the world society) leads to different regional developments and generates, through the inclusion/exclusion cod...