Modern social thought ranges widely from the social sciences to philosophy, political theories and doctrines, cultural ideas and movements, and the influence of the natural sciences.

• Provides an authoritative overview of the main themes of social thought.
• Long essays and entries give full coverage to each topic.
• Covers major currents of thought, philosophical and cultural trends, and the individual social sciences from anthropology to welfare economics.
• New edition updates about 200 entries and includes new entries, suggestions for further reading, and a bibliography of all sources cited within the text.

William Outhwaite is Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex.His previous publications include Habermas: A Critical Introduction (1994), New Philosophies of Social Science (1987), Understanding Social Life (second edition, 1986), and The Future of Society (Blackwell, 2006). He is co-author of Social Theory and Postcommunism (Blackwell, 2005), editor of The Habermas Reader (1996), and co-editor of The Sociology of Politics (1998).