Ludger Gerdes' work can be used to illustrate some of Niklas Luhmann's basic ideas with which he attempts to describe society. Niklas Luhmann assumes that the overall system of society cannot be perceived and judged by any single person. In a democratic society, there cannot and should not be a command center that determines everything and places itself at the center. All people are more or less participants in a circular "social game". It therefore makes sense that the center of Ludger Gerdes' work is empty. It should also be deliberately empty in society in order to give everyone their own rights. Only then is open, free communication within society possible. Communication presupposes that people observe each other, i.e. perceive each other. In this context, "observing" does not mean observing or spying, but is rather used as a sociological term, as a value-neutral designation for observing and recognizing actions and behaviours. In a democratic society, everyone pays attention to what each other is doing.