ABSTRACT
The central aim of this book: offering a historical sociology and political anthropology. It is written by two social scientists whose background, education and interests are fundamentally rooted in the contemporary world, but who are using material that mostly belongs to archaeology, anthropology and the history of religions. The book is closely connected to two central questions about the reality. For social scientists, engaging on a very long-term historical project needs a strong methodological underpinning. The book presents three basic methodological considerations. First, the genealogical method, as explored by Nietzsche, continued by Max Weber and his closest 'disciples', and given new lease by Michel Foucault. The second major methodological perspective involves the use of anthropological concepts. However, the third methodological perspective is the most important, which can even be called a 'meta-methodological' principle: the idea that man has been never different.
