The Violent Genesis of the State: Franz Oppenheimer
The German sociologist Franz Oppenheimer theorized that states have their origins in violence and conquest.
Though obscure today, the German sociologist Franz Oppenheimer crafted a radical theory of the state. In his book The State, he argued that the state’s origins were not in public justice or establishing laws but in the reign of a conquering group over their defeated foes. His work influenced libertarian theorists such as Albert Jay Nock, Walter Block, and Murray Rothbard.
Photo by Heinz Hillel Oppenheimer.