Repairing or Perfecting the World is about people, obscure, famous, or somewhere in between. Some were ordinary people doing extraordinary things, while others were well-known people doing unexpected beneficent acts. The actions vary from those of patients or doctors and from warriors to scientists. The book is presented as stories called "carols" that describe these people and their actions. Illustrated in these carols is the importance of individual agency; people can make a difference, both collectively and individually; creed must be accompanied by deed; each individual's actions are important. All such actions must be consistent with caring for our fellow man.

The author, Dr. Samuel Hellman, states that "The creed and deeds of medical researchers are evolving; hopefully like the arc cited by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they will bend toward the essential rights and dignity of each individual." The carols presented in Repairing or Perfecting the World demonstrate similar curves of human actions in many spheres of human endeavor. The book is presented with three major themes: Hegemony and War; Doctoring and Science; and Feminism and Me. All are concerned with individuals improving the human condition.