Hiromatsu argues that the change from Marx's theory of self-alienation to the concept of reification is crucial in establishing a new relational worldview which is still relevant today. Amongst other topics, his discussion of the understanding of society sees such as a relational dynamic wherein the individual is constantly composed and composing in relation to others, including nature. This understanding is, he argues, the “single science of history” of Marx and Engels. It overcomes the hypostasizing subject - object relation still prevalent today.

Originally published in Japanese as Busshōkaron no kōzu by Iwanami Shoten, Publishers, Tokyo, 1983, 1994. © By Kuniko Hiromatsu.