A sublimely beautiful world, a world of peace and plenty, where poverty has been virtually eradicated and threats to the environment banished - that is what Rabbi Michael Lerner projects in this richly detailed book that purports to tell how the world can ascend to this noble state. Lerner is a renowned scholar, theologian and is probably best known as editor of  Tikkun magazine.

The process he outlines obviously would take place over the long term, encompassing decades rather than years, yet Lerner, eternally optimistic, steadfastly believes that it is well within the realm of possibility. And, at times as one reads his proposals, he almost succeeds in persuading the reader that this drastic change - encompassing a wide range of issues - can well come about.

His basic idea, from which the book's title is derived, is that the right hand of God represents fear and the compulsion to dominate. whereas the left hand, as he sees it, represents "mercy, compassion and loving-kindness," as the Talmud teaches. Those embracing the right hand see the world as a scary, threatening place and the scene of a never-ending struggle, be it military, economic or in any other field of human endeavor. Followers of the left hand, by contrast, see the world as a loving, caring, nurturing place, where nations beat their swords into plowshares and (for the most part) cease to make war.

But his main thrust is the need for the Left to embrace a spiritual agenda, which it essentially has lacked, whereas the Right has linked the idea of spirituality with its (mainly Republican) politics. He cites this lack of a spiritual component as a key reason for the Democrats' failure to win key elections in recent years.

But his push for change goes well beyond election-year politics. He really seeks to drastically reshape the American (in fact, the global) ideological landscape. And, after detailing the defects of the current system, he tells his multi-faceted plan for a spiritual agenda that would bring about the beautiful world he envisions.

This truly is an inspiring work, even if in some ways it seems grandiose and even utopian. And, given the current state of American political, economic and cultural thought and action, the outlook for fulfilling his goals seems, at best, a very long shot.

Still, on a more immediate level, some of what he advocates is that far out. The Democratic Party has shown little of an alternative vision since the days of the New Deal and the Great Society, so perhaps appealing to our spiritual side - rather than the secular approach that the party has taken - might attract enough middle-of-the-road voters to win more elections. Also appealing is Lerner's idea of universal non-military service for all citizens, during which they would help implement the Global Marshall Plan that he proposes to equalize distribution and thereby eliminate poverty around the world. This idea fits in with the concept of personal responsibility that he also favors.

There are some overly long, convoluted sentences that much be reread a few times to be understood, but overall Lerner makes his points clearly and cogently. If nothing else, this book stirs the reader to think deeply about the current state of our world and what can be done to improve it.