extensive network of exchange and hence for any civilized economy. Rothbard explains that in a market economy, exchanges are not only "horizontal" but also "vertical," proceeding downward from the transformation of land, through various capital goods, and finally to consumption. He presents an example of a simple vertical pattern, where Smith sells an axe he made to Jones for a certain amount of gold, and Jones sells the lumber he cut with the axe to Johnson for gold. Rothbard then explains the role of intermediaries, such as Polk, in the exchange process. These intermediaries, or capitalists, hire laborers to transform and transport goods to a more useful place, and they pay them for their labor services. The capitalist's function is to save laborers from the necessity of restricting their consumption and waiting for their pay until the product is sold. By doing this, the capitalist confers a great benefit on the laborers, making possible the entire complex vertical network of exchanges in the modern economy. Rothbard argues that capitalists are not depriving the laborers of their rightful ownership of the product, but instead, they are making it possible for them to receive payment considerably in advance of the sale of the product. Finally, he states that each step of the way, a man produces by exerting his labor upon tangible goods, and the process of ownership ultimately derives from original production, voluntary exchange, and the hiring of labor services. Chapter 8, "Interpersonal Relations: Ownership and Aggression", discusses the concept of interpersonal relations and how they can be peaceful or aggressive. Aggressive violence is when one person invades the property of another without the victim’s consent, whether that property is the person or tangible goods. Rothbard explores the two alternatives for a man's ownership rights to his own body: full self-ownership or the idea that each person should have only an equal part of ownership. The latter alternative leads to difficulties, since it's physically impossible for everyone to keep tabs on everyone else and to exercise an equal share of partial ownership over every other man. In practice, ownership of others necessarily becomes a specialized activity of a ruling class, and no society which does not have full self-ownership for everyone can enjoy a universal ethic. In contrast, the society of absolute self-ownership for all rests on the primordial fact of natural self-ownership by every man, and on the fact that