The Making of Social Theory: Order, Reason, and Desire, second edition, chronicles the development of Western ideas about society and social life from the medieval period through to the rise of modern sociology in the early twentieth century. Theories are examined within a historical social context to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the social circumstances in which various sociological ideologies arose. The new second edition retains its unique coverage of pre-Enlightenment ideas and features new material on Marxism in the twenty century and a chapter dedicated to tracing the evolution of social democracy through Pareto and Mannheim. Taking a uniquely interdisciplinary approach, The Making of Social Theory examines the links between the classical and contemporary worlds, allowing students to see how classical social theory has helped to shape the ideas of today.

Anthony Thomson's profile page

Anthony Thomson is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at Acadia University. He earned his MA from Dalhousie and his PhD from Cambridge in 1984. Thomson is an experienced writer, having published previously with Canadian Scholars Press. In addition to social theory, his areas of interest cover the Nova Scotian labour movement, Canadian labour history, Marxism, post-revolutionary societies, intellectual history, criminal justice, and socialist movements.