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Classical sociological theory continues to develop. It is a living tradition as well as an inheritance. There are problems to fix – like inadequate attention to gender, race, or colonialism. There are questions about how to integrate insights from different perspectives. There are historical changes to consider. There’s unfinished business like the resolving the tensions between focus on function and power.

All this is true on topics to which classical theorists paid a great deal of attention – like urbanization, inequality or transformations of the family. It is also true when the topic is one underestimated by earlier theory, like the intersectional relations among race, immigration status, class, and gender.

At the same time, classical sociological theory forms a crucial foundation for new theoretical and analytic projects. Without it, new work risks being shallow and repetitive.

The work collected in this book does not exhaust classical sociological theory. It is an introductory sample. There is more important work by each of the theorists excerpted here, and of course there is work by others. To know this tradition enables a sociologist – or a citizen – to approach issues in a deeper way, better informed intellectually, and better empowered to see what will really make a difference practically.