Important though the contributions of those working within the Marxist tradition have been, the remaking of world history owes perhaps more to the work of William McNeill, whose the Rise of the West has provided students with a comprehensive account of the history of the world within the tradition of civilizational studies. McNeill’s innovation was to unhook the study of civilizations from the Procrustean bed of metaphysics whether it be the pessimism of Spengler or the cyclicalism of Toynbee. McNeill situates the emergence of modernity in the context of all human history. This permits a less presentist and less Eurocentric discussion of the shape of the human past though as the title of his book suggests, some difficulties remain. It is here that the contribution of Marshall G.Hodgson is relevant.