Defining planning as an inherent aspect of human life, Branch presents conclusions reached from 20 previous volumes dealing with different aspects and applications of planning, as well as from actual professional planning experiences. He shows how planning has been a directive force during human evolution and an intrinsic element in human reactions, actions, and activities.

Focusing on the existing situation in the United States, he examines the major difficulties confronting the country with respect to planning: problems of communication, poor legislative performance, educational deficiencies, and cultural materialism. Branch presents the fullest explanation available in the literature today of planning and its place in society, and he concludes with an examination of the potentialities and limitations of existing planning in America and its relation to human behavior.