The problem of order is the central problem of politics. A political society must achieve a minimum degree of stability to survive. Equally, it must functionally adapt to change. The objective situation imposes constraints but does not provide determinate answers. Like the artistic tradition, the political tradition provides materials. The combination and recombination of these materials within the constraints of the objective situation is a creative act of political will. This act, by defining and redefining the situation, permits the actors to co-operate. It cuts the Gordian knot of the cognitive problem.