This title was first published in 2003. This book offers a challenging new approach to social theory, building on the concept of life-modes. Thomas Hojrup invites us to look at cultural analysis within a state perspective. He develops a mode of analysis based on principles of structural dialectics inspired by Aristotle, Leibniz, Bachelard and Hjelmslev. In doing so he offers a fresh perspective on classical theoretical problems in both the social sciences and humanities, a perspective which allows us to think beyond some of the dominant paradigms of these disciplines. The book is addressed to scholars from a variety of disciplines who are interested in new solutions to some of the fundamental theoretical problems concerning state, society and culture.