One can see that what came most readily to hand in the process of development towards advanced societies was not the actual specialization of an appropriate decision-making power, but the claim that knowledge was identical to decision-making competence, and that truth was identical to power. Under these circumstances, as can be readily ascertainable from accounts of Far Eastern civilizations, it can be presumed that there are few alternative-rich situations available to the power-subject.

QUESTION: Interesting to pursue: does the author think the equation of knowledge/power is a deliberate claim by rulers rather than a natural development? Also, the Far Eastern civilizations evidence is worth checking.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 634