The significance of Niklas Luhmann's systems theory as a form of comprehensive societal analysis is undisputed. His social theory, along with his organization theory, political theory, and sociology of knowledge, constitutes his outstanding work. In his last lecture at the University of Bielefeld, Niklas Luhmann aimed to provide modern society with a theory that opens up new spaces for action and navigation. By reflecting on older societies, their structures, and ways of thinking, Luhmann elucidates how modern society differs from all previous ones. At the same time, he describes today's society using concepts that were previously rather foreign to sociology, primarily from systems theory, but also from biology, cybernetics, and communication studies.