That is true, at least, for the situation in which this happens. Nemo ad praecise factum cogi potest (No one can be compelled to do something), goes the old saying, applied to legal judgments. Physical coercion can thus not simply be understood as the 'last resort' on a scale of increasing pressures. Rather it has a much more general meaning in relation to the symbolically generalized power-code in that it mediates the relationship of the symbolic to the organic level and does so without involving other, non-political function systems, such as the economy or the family. In this way it becomes possible to differentiate power which is specifically political – always with the proviso that the power itself does not 'degenerate' into physical coercion.

DEFINE: Clarifies how Luhmann distinguishes physical coercion from political power: coercion mediates symbolic and organic levels, while power proper is symbolic and must not degenerate into coercion. XREF: Connects to Luhmannian systems theory concepts like symbolically generalized media and political differentiation from other functional systems.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 700