This text is written for introductory sociology courses and takes a macrosociological, global approach, offering an introduction that is comparative, cross-cultural and historical. It compares societies over time and across environments, emphasizing the dynamics of social change. The book has a strong ecological-evolutionary perspective. It stresses the relationship between social arrangements and environmental and technological contexts. This edition includes a chapter on the successes and failures of Marxist societies as social experiments, and has increased focus on comparisons between industrial and non-industrial societies.