Parallels at infinity

Eleven common points in the social theories of Niklas Luhmann and Pierre Bourdieu

Abstract

The main question of this paper is: what commonalities can be identified in the social theories of Niklas Luhmann and Pierre Bourdieu even though the structure and logic of these two theoretical constructions are fundamentally different? After illuminating this fundamental difference, the paper identifies eleven common points. It does not attempt to link or synthesize the two theories, but it does contribute to their comparison and assessment of their performance.