The e aim of this article is to cultivate Schmitt’s concept of the political, employing a funcional-systematic framework which was formulated in German sociology and social philosophy. By way of Luhmann’s systems theory and Habermas‘ systemising reconstruction of Weber’s conception of spheres of value, a model of intensity is worked out, which is constituted by two concepts: differentiation and politicisation. Whereas the systems theory of Niklas Luhmann is significant for the final delineation of the political as a system, Habermas’s Kantian differentiation of culture grounds the semantics of politicisation. This semantics also exploits considerations about re-distribution and recognition, with particular attention on Nancy Fraser’s “perspectival dualism”. The reason for cultivating Schmitt’s concept of the political is to develop the political as an independent concept which is an alternative to a conception that concentrates the political in politically active or activated civil society.