During the postwar period, an irreconcilable antagonism existed in sociology between action-theoretical and systems-theoretical approaches. In the last decades a greater readiness for discussion across this divide exists (Knorr-Cetina and Cicourel 1981; Alexander, Giesen, Münch and Smelser 1987; Schimank 2000; Schwinn 2007; Greve, Schnabel and Schützeichel 2008). In moving from reduction to linkage, microsociological approaches seek connections to “higher­level” phenomena, and an actor-oriented perspective finds a place within systems­theoretical, functionalist approaches. As important as the macro-micro link may be, it should not be forgotten that fragments from theories originating in different sociological traditions cannot be combined arbitrarily. The effort undertaken by Jürgen Habermas to integrate elements of systems functionalism into action theory is subject to critical examination here. He seeks to overcome the inadequacies of action theory by supplementing it with systems theory. The present study comes to the conclusion that he doesn’t succeed in discovering a consistent way to link the two heterogeneous theoretical components. A successful micro-macro link can only be achieved by combining a theory of action and a theory of structure and not by combining action and systems theories, for this latter combination does not allow either of the two sides to be adequately conceptualized.