In this, new edition of a classic work—now with a new preface—on the roots of social scientific thinking, Immanuel Wallerstein develops a thorough-going critique of the legacy of nineteenth-century social science for social thought in the new millennium. We have to "unthink"—radically revise and discard—many of the presumptions that still remain the foundation of dominant perspectives today. Once considered liberating, these notions are now barriers to a clear understanding of our social world. They include, for example, ideas built into the concept of "development." In place of such a notion, Wallerstein stresses transformations in time and space. Geography and chronology should not be regarded as external influences upon social transformations but crucial to what such transformation actually is. Unthinking Social Science applies the ideas thus elaborated to a variety of theoretical areas and historical problems. Wallerstein also offers a critical discussion of! the key figures whose ideas have influenced the position he formulates—including Karl Marx and Fernand Braudel, among others. In the concluding sections of the book, Wallerstein demonstrates how these new insights lead to a revision of world-systems analysis.

伊曼纽尔·沃勒斯坦，世界体系理论的开创者，“世界体系”学派的核心人物。1976年起，长期任教美国纽约州立大学宾汉姆顿分校社会学系，并担任该校“布罗代尔经济、历史体系和文明研究中心”主任，为该校杰出教授。1994—1998年担任国际社会学联合会主席。现为美国耶鲁大学资深研究员。从1974年开始，沃勒斯坦的代表作《现代世界体系》多卷本陆续出版。其他重要著作包括《资本主义世界经济》、《历史资本主义》、《世界经济的政治学——国家、运动和文明》、《地缘政治和地缘文化——论变动中的世界体系》、《否思社会科学》、《自由主义的终结》，以及合著的《世界体系分析：理论与方法论》、《反体系运动》等。