Differentiation and Dedifferentiation: A Latin American Approach to Systems Theory

This paper evaluates the use of the concept of dedifferentiation in Neves’s and Mascareño’s work. These authors assume that Grundrechte’s findings can be integrated into Luhmann’s autopoietic systems theory without any contradictions. However, this is not fully supported by Luhmann’s texts. In Neves’s work, dedifferentiation arises from corrupt practices and the distortion or breakdown of the separation of powers. In Mascareño’s theory, stratificatory and reciprocity networks intervene in the operativity of functional systems, causing the disappointment of expectations. We suggest that theories based on the concept of dedifferentiation ignore the Ebenendifferezierung and wrongly assign all of an organization’s operations to a functional system. This omission leads the authors to conclude that interactional or organizational level phenomena result in functional systems undergoing dedifferentiation. According to Bora, dedifferentiation can be defined as a shift in the systemic reference during individual communication episodes.