The action-theoretical foundation of sociology has been rejected by Niklas Luhmann's systems theory: The structure of the object itself, the argument goes, leads compellingly to the insight that action is not due to human beings but to the self-generation of social systems. Matthias Klemm reconstructs this argument and traces its implications for the architecture of systems theory. The analysis allows to show connections especially to the pragmatic lifeworld theory of Alfred Schütz beyond the front line between system- and action-theoretical positions.