Structures of Ideological Systems Programming. The Case of Sustainability in Prices

Kristoffer Klement

doi:10.1002/sres.70050

journal article Open Access Mar 31, 2026

Structures of Ideological Systems Programming. The Case of Sustainability in Prices

Kristoffer Klement

Systems Research and Behavioral Science · Wiley

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Abstract

ABSTRACT
This paper aims to demonstrate Niklas Luhmann's systems theory and its concept of ideologies as a general framework for analysing the actual implementation of normative ideas in modern society. Using the example of sustainable pricing within the economic system, it shows how values can be established at the programmatic level of function systems in order to regulate the binary codes of those systems. In this way, an interplay across different structural layers becomes visible, in which ideologies such as sustainability introduce dynamic orders of relevance and thereby constitute the orientational framework of a system. Luhmann's systems‐theoretical concept of ideology thus proves to be a useful tool for analysing complex and evolving social patterns of orientation, which should be further complemented by additional theoretical concepts such as structural layering.

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Published: Mar 31, 2026
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Authors

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Kristoffer Klement

Faculty of Sociology Bielefeld University Bielefeld Germany

Cite This Article

Kristoffer Klement (2026). Structures of Ideological Systems Programming. The Case of Sustainability in Prices. Systems Research and Behavioral Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.70050

Structures of Ideological Systems Programming. The Case of Sustainability in Prices

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