Adam Katz how do you define the concept of "the center"?

Yes, that's right. I would also say it's a product of collective intentionality, which means it possesses a kind of intentionality of its own (the kind of intentionality we could attribute to God). The center is "telling" us we can "look, but not touch," which none of the participants on the scene could say, unless that participant took it upon himself to speak for the center (what would once have been considered "prophecy").

Do you have more specific questions regarding modern politics and everyday social interactions (which that definition doesn't address)?

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You're right about everyday conversation--the center is fluid, from one person to the other, which each referring to some common center.

Without the center, collective intentionality wouldn't make sense--what would it be intending? There has to be some object or focus.

In a social order, the center is above all the state, and we can try to get more precise and identify where, exactly, power resides within the state. Then there are other centers, authorized more or less explicitly or formally by the state. The more complex point that I try to make is to distinguish between the "occupied center" and the "signifying center." The "occupied center" is the state, or the head of government. There has been an occupied center since the emergence of the "Big Man" out of primitive tribal society. (In a sense, the center was occupied prior to that, but not by humans.) But the center is also the source of meaning, coherence and consistency--it's what makes an order an order. That's why, even if we think the ruler of our country is a murderous SOB, it's extremely hard to see him as just someone who is somehow able to get a bunch of other guys to kill people for him. It's very hard not to see him as someone we could imagine appealing to. It's also why, even if we think the institutions of our country are completely corrupt, it's very hard to actually act towards them in accord with that belief--you would still hope for "justice" from the courts, "knowledge" from the schools, "morality" from community leaders, and so on (and be angry or disappointed if you did't receive it). It would take enormous effort to be completely and constantly cynical about all this. The reason is that we still see all this as "backed" by the foundation of social order in a shared act of deferral. So, the "signifying center" is the meaning with which we imbue the occupied center and all its branches.

But you're also right to think in terms of context.

I hope this helps.