Modern society emerged in the context of European colonialism and empire. So too did a
distinctively modern social theory laying the basis for most social theorising ever since. Yet
colonialism and empire are absent from the conceptual understandings of modern society which
are organised instead around ideas of nation state and capitalist economy. Gurminder K. Bhambra
and John Holmwood address this absence by examining the role of colonialism in the development
of modern society and the legacies it has bequeathed. Beginning with a consideration of the
role of colonialism and empire in the formation of social theory from Hobbes to Hegel the
authors go on to focus on the work of Tocqueville Marx Weber Durkheim and Du Bois. As well
as unpicking critical omissions and misrepresentations the chapters discuss the places where
colonialism is acknowledged and discussed - albeit inadequately - by these founding figures
and we come to see what this fresh rereading has to offer and why it matters. This inspiring
and insightful book argues for a reconstruction of social theory that should lead to a better
understanding of contemporary social thought its limitations and its wider possibilities.
