Abstract
The aim of this paper is to deal with the construction of the social order in Niklas Luhmann’s theory of self-referential social systems. While this theory denies such a normative interpretation of the social order as Talcott Parsons', it also insists that “anything goes” is impossible: the social order is neither normative nor arbitrary. Therefore social actions are produced not random but orderly. This order can be realized by the time of social system. The order in social system is equal with the “time order”. What Alfred Schutz, a phenomenological sociologist, thought about internal time-consciousness of subjects applies to social systems as well. The whole system time includes the past and the future and thus reduces the range of possibilities in advance. In relation to other actions, the unit and meaning of a social action is determined as a selection from the limited possibilities available. And such selected actions will serve to the production of other new actions subsequently. This is the emergent order and self-reference of a social system. Time makes it possible to differentiate a social system from the environment and to put possibilities in order.
