Unthinking Social Science: The Limits of Nineteenth-Century Paradigms

In this work, Immanuel Wallerstein develops a critique of the legacy of 19th-century social science for social thought in the late 20th century. He argues that the presumptions which provide the foundation of dominant research today need "unthinking" and should be revised or even discarded. Once considered liberating, these notions have become a barrier to clear understanding of the social world in current times. Applying these ideas to a variety of theoretical and historical problems, Wallerstein also offers a critical discussion of some of the key figures whose ideas have influenced the position he formulates, including Marx and Braudel. In the concluding sections of the book, Wallerstein demonstrates how these insights may lead to a revision of world-systems analysis.