The action-theoretical foundation of sociology has been rejected by the system theory of Niklas Luhmann: The structure of the object itself, so the argument goes, inevitably leads to the insight that action cannot be attributed to humans, but rather to the self-generation of social systems. Matthias Klemm reconstructs this argumentation and traces its implications for the architecture of system theory. The analysis allows for connections to be made, especially to the pragmatic life-world theory of Alfred Schütz, beyond the opposition between system and action-theoretical positions.