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Sociology began as an attempt to make sense of the ‘great transformation’ from traditional to modern society; the development of industrial production, the mass movement of people from the land to the towns and the rise of a new economic order, modern capitalism.

Marx, Durkheim and Weber were major interpreters of this transition to modernity and their works still cast giant shadows over sociology.

Tony Giddens talks about how he conceived the project (lying on a beach in California), why he chose Marx, Durkheim and Weber and why he centred the work on the genesis and consequence of capitalist society.

He then discusses the theoretical basis, key concepts and political sociology of each theorist (ideal for those starting sociological theory) and considers their continuing relevance to contemporary sociology.