Kajsa Ekholm Friedman is professor in the Department of Social Anthropology at Lund University, Sweden. Jonathan Friedman is directeur d'études at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, in Paris, and professor of social anthropology at Lund University.

• Part I: Social Reproduction, Social Transformation, and Global ProcessChapter 1 Marxist Theory and Systems of Total ReproductionChapter 2 Crises in Theory and Transformations of the World EconomyPart II: Global Process and Long Term ChangeChapter 3 The Study of Risks in Social Systems: An Anthropological PerspectiveChapter 4 Notes towards an Epigenetic Model of the Evolution of "Civilization"Chapter 5 Structural Perspectives on the Bronze Age: Economic, Political and Social IntegrationChapter 6 "Capital" Imperialism and Exploitation in Ancient World SystemsChapter 7 Transnationalization, Socio-political Disorder, and Ethnification as Expressions of Declining Global HegemonyPart III: Structure and History: Transformational ModelsChapter 8 External Exchange and the Transformation of Central African Social SystemsChapter 9 "Sad Stories of the Death of Kings:" The Involution of Divine KingshipChapter 10 Notes on Structure and History in OceaniaChapter 11 Morphogenesis and Global Process in Polynesia

In these essays, the authors critique materialist, evolutionary, elitist, and development theoretical approaches in archaeology and anthropology. It is most relevant for professional readers interested in the history of systems theory and Marxist discussions of capital and social reproduction.