The author, an unbowed crusader for an indigenous American Left, condemns corporate power, environmental degradation, and a militaristic foreign policy. He synthesizes the views of William Appleman Williams, Richard Barnet and Barry Commoner among others. He notes a trend toward "conservative authoritarianism" but still hopes for the creation of "democratic and participatory economic planning." The most interesting chapter deals with cancer as "the paradigm disease of the petrochemical age."