"The author has collected here the studies in which he sought to contribute to the theory of the great systems, the political governmental forms, and the change of system. Though he tries to answer the questions he puts to himself, the questions may actually be seen as more important than the responses. What is socialism? What is capitalism? What is democracy? Studying a country at a given moment, how is it possible to decide whether the institutions at work in it resemble those of other countries? How do rhetoric or ideology relate to reality? Which operating characteristics of a country are system-specific and which found under any system?"--BOOK JACKET.