Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Sociology - Social System and Social Structure, grade: 1,3, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (Institut für Soziologie), course: The World an Introduction, language: English, abstract: This paper aims to summarize the most important aspects of Therborns first chapter "Why we are who we are: A sociocultural geology of today's World." In his book "The World – A Beginner´s Guide", Göran Therborn, a Swedish Professor of Sociology at Cambridge University, gives an outline of today's society. Through looking at the past, he tries to explain the sociocultural geology that forged the world into the vibrant, globalized interplay of politics, people and culture that we live in today. "The World" also gives a perspective of what may lay ahead of humankind's everlasting journey to a better future. This compass of the basic drives of human society, tries to paint a picture of our modern condition. From birth to after-life Therborn is set out to answer fundamental questions about mankind: Why we are who we are? Why we act the way we do?