Concentration in contemporary society: Towards a theory of crisis based on Marx and Luhmann Rafael Alvear Europa-Universität Flensburg, Berlin, Germany Centro de Estudios del Desarrollo Regional y Políticas Públicas (CEDER), Universidad de Los Lagos, Chile Abstract When examining the current form that modern society has acquired, it is hard to overlook the emergence of a systemic dimension that has become far removed from its social-symbolic roots. This systemic dimension is the result of a process of functional differentiation and sim- ultaneous growth that has led to the gradual formation of social systems that, alongside their coordinating effect, give rise to multiple conflicts or crises. But how are the crises of modern societies to be understood in light of this logic of functional differentiation and internal growth? The purpose of this article is to postulate one particular form of crisis, which will be understood as the result of a consubstantial tendency towards systemic growth. The trend takes the form of a concentration of the performances of social systems that recreates modern schemes of stratifi- cation, homogenizes the diversity of options and selections of these systems and, by becoming caught up in thoughtless patterns of growth, produces critical scenarios. Keywords functional differentiation, growth, concentration, crisis, social systems Introduction The idea that we are currently living in a functionally differentiated society has gained increasing space in sociology (Nassehi, 2004). Following notable attempts by thinkers such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber to capture the mechanism of Corresponding Author: Rafael Alvear, Europa-Universität Flensburg, Auf dem Campus 1, 24943 Flensburg, Germany. Email: rafael.alvear.m@gmail.com Article Thesis Eleven 1–15 © The Author(s) 2024 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/07255136241296562 journals.sagepub.com/home/the