The basis of this book is a systematic interpretation of the historical transition of the West from monarchy to democracy. Revisionist in nature, she describes why monarchy is a lesser evil than democracy, yet finds fault with both. Her methodology is axiomatic-deductive, allowing the writer to derive economic and sociological theorems and then apply them to interpret historical events. An irresistible chapter on temporal preferences explains the process of civilization as a result of declining rates of temporal preference and the construction of capital structure, and explains how interactions between people can reduce the rate of temporal preferences by drawing parallels with the Ricardian Law on the Formation of Ties.