This book shows that Marx's treatment of natural conditions possesses an inner logic, coherence, and analytical power which has not been previously recognized. The power of Marx's approach stems from his consistent treatment of human production in terms of the mutual constitution of its social form and material content.

While recognizing that production is structured by historically developed relations among producers, Marx also insists that production as a social and material process is shaped and constrained by natural conditions, including the natural condition of human bodily existence.