Capitalism and Classical Social Theory offers a rigorous introduction to classical social theory, highlighting the enduring relevance of classical works for understanding the many crises of the contemporary world. This popular theory book introduces students to a selection of classical social thinkers and demonstrates the relevance of the classical canon in contemporary society – a society marked by social inequality, insecurity, transformative AI, and the climate emergency.

The fourth edition features updated examples, data, and images throughout, as well as new material on early American sociology and new literature on classical social theorists from the past five years. It reintroduces a chapter on Georg Simmel and urbanism, and it includes a new chapter exploring the intersection of the COVID-19 pandemic and class, race, and gender.

While attentive to historical context, Capitalism and Classical Social Theory argues that classical theorists speak directly to the present challenges of inequality, social change, and the climate crisis in the twenty-first century.

John Bratton is Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Work and Community Studies at Athabasca University, Canada, and a Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland. He has taught a variety of sociology courses, including classical social theory, over a career of 30 years. He is the author of Japanization at Work and co-author of Workplace Learning: A Critical Introduction with Jean C. Helms Mills, Timothy Pyrch, and Peter Sawchuk; Work and Organizational Behaviour with Militza Callinan, Martin Corbett, Carolyn Forshaw, and Peter Sawchuk; and Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, now in its fifth edition, with Jeff Gold.

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David Denham is an Honourary Research Fellow at Wolverhampton University, England, where he taught a wide variety of sociology courses, including classical social theory, over a career of 35 years. He has published articles on the sociology of law, criminology, and the sociology of sport and is co-author with Lorraine Wolhuter and Neil Olley of Victimology: Victimization and Victims’ Rights.

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