Father Oswald Hirmer has put us all in his debt by providing a well-written, simple, yet thorough analysis of the various socio-political and economic systems available for us in Africa and especially in South Africa. He has placed in our hands an indispensable tool to help us arrive at a considered and rational decision about which system we must opt for. He has attempted successfully to describe the strengths and weakness of the various systems briefly and yet clearly without sacrificing depth in his analysis. It will be our own fault if we remain woefully ignorant of what is on offer and why we accept one reject another political system.