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The State () is a book by German sociologist Franz Oppenheimer first published in Germany in 1907. Oppenheimer wrote the book in Frankfurt am Main during 1907, as a fragment of the four-volume System of Sociology, an intended interpretative framework for the understanding of social evolution on which he laboured from the 1890s until the end of his life.Paul Gottfried, Introduction to the 1999 Transaction Publishers edition, p. i–xvi The work summarizes Oppenheimer's general theory on the origin, development and future transformation of the state. The State, which Oppenheimer's missionary zeal pervades, was widely read and passionately discussed in the early 20th century. It was well received by—and influential on—as diverse an audience as Zionist settlers in Palestine (halutzim), American and Slavic communitarians, West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, and anarcho-capitalists like Murray Rothbard.
A classical liberal and socialist sympathiser, Oppenheimer regarded capitalism as "a system of exploitation and capital revenues as the gain of that exploitation", but placed the blame not on the genuinely free market, but on the intervention of the state. Oppenheimer's view of the state is profoundly opposed to the then dominant characterisation propounded by G. W. F. Hegel of the state as an admirable achievement of modern civilisation. Proponents of this view tend to accept the social contract view that the State came about as ever larger groups of people agreed to subordinate their private interests for the common good.
In contrast, Oppenheimer's view was an advancement of the "conquest theory" of the state that developed during the late 19th century by Ludwig Gumplowicz. According to conquest theory, the state came into being through war and conquest, a consequence of which was the establishment of social classes; the dominant conquerors and the subordinate conquered. This, in turn, led to the emergence of a political system to consolidate the power of the conquerors, to perpetuate and regulate class divisions. Oppenheimer's views led the American essayist, Albert Jay Nock, writing in the first half of the 20th century, to remark that in his own book, Our Enemy, the State:
Summary In his preface, Oppenheimer discusses the development of sociology in Western and Eastern Europe. The ideas of Capitalism and Socialism originated in England and were first expressed in that country, but it was only during the French Revolution that the contrast between the ruling class and the subject class was fully appreciated. The new sociology found a readier acceptance in Western Europe than in Eastern Europe because the contrast between the State and Society had not been realized in the East. In Germany, there was no economic or social movement of the third estate, and the two terms "State" and "Society" were used as synonyms. Theology played a leading role in Germany, resulting in the worship of the State, which reached its height in the Hegelian system. The sociology of Western Europe and the philosophy of history of Germany flowed side by side, with occasional intercommunicating streams. A direct junction between the two was achieved through Lorenz Stein, who became the leading German teacher of administrative law and influenced generations of thinkers.
Origins of the state Chapter 1, "Theories of the State", presents a sociological perspective on the genesis, essence, and purpose of the State. Oppenheimer criticizes conventional theories of the State and argues that the ruling concept of the origin and essence of the State is untenable. The chapter argues against the theory that all human political organizations must gradually become a class-state due to inherent tendencies of development. A section titled The Sociological Idea of the State defines the State as "a social institution, forced by a victorious group of men on a defeated group, with the sole purpose of regulating the dominion of the victorious group over the vanquished, and securing itself against revolt from within and attacks from abroad. Teleologically, this dominion had no other purpose than the economic exploitation of the vanquished by the victors." He proposes a new concept, "Freemen's Citizenship," to describe advanced commonwealths. The chapter suggests that a complete examination of the states of the past and present should be supplemented by a study of races and states that are not covered in "Universal History."
Chapter 2, "The Genesis of the State", begins by arguing that the principal force of sociological development is the "economic" impulse, described as "the necessities of life, which force man to acquire for himself and for his family nourishment, clothing and housing". Section (a), titled "Political and Economic Means", proposes "two fundamentally opposed means whereby man, requiring sustenance, is impelled to obtain the necessary means for satisfying his desires": "work and robbery, one's own labor and the forcible appropriation of the labor of others". To avoid the stigma of these terms, he calls the former the "economic means" and the latter the "political means" for the satisfaction of needs.
According to Oppenheimer, "the state is an organization of the political means" – a later sentence says, of all "true 'States' in the sociologic sense", that "they are nothing but the organization of the political means, their form is domination, their content the economic exploitation of the subject by the master group." Albert Jay Nock would go on to repeat this phrasing in Our Enemy, The State, chapter 5.
Section (b), titled "Peoples Without a State: Huntsmen and Grubbers", explains that primitive huntsmen and peasants lack a state because they do not possess a developed economic organization to be subjugated. In the case of huntsmen, their society is an undifferentiated mass where only those individuals with magical powers are prominent. On the other hand, peasants live in liberty, scattered over the country in separated curtilages, perhaps in villages, split up due to quarrels about district or farm boundaries. In such a society, it is hardly conceivable that a warlike organization could come about for purposes of attack. They are totally lacking in that warlike desire to take the offensive, which is the distinguishing mark of hunters and herdsmen. War cannot better their condition. As a result, there is no possibility of a state arising from "the economic and social conditions of the peasant districts."
Section (c), titled "Peoples Preceding the State: Herdsmen and Vikings", argues that herdsmen have developed many elements of statehood, including economic and social differentiation, but they lack a defined territorial limit. The introduction of slavery into the tribal economy of herdsmen completed the essential elements of the state, and a social separation into three distinct classes – nobility, common freemen, and slaves – exists. The text also explains how herdsmen gradually become accustomed to earning their livelihood through warfare and exploiting men as servile labor motors, leading to the development of professional fighters.
Section (d), titled "The Genesis of the State", suggests that states arose from "the contrast between peasants and herdsmen, between laborers and robbers, between bottom lands and prairies." The chapter describes the six stages of the subjection of a peasant folk by a tribe of herdsmen or sea nomads. The author argues that the fundamental basis of civilization is the same all over the world, its development being consistent and regular under the most varied economic and geographical conditions. The first stage is the subjection of the peasant folk by the tribe, which leads to the payment of tribute by the peasant to the conqueror.
The second stage involves a herdsman developing a sense of economy and only taking the surplus from the peasant. The herdsman now sees the peasant as a source of wealth and the beginning of exploitation – a jural relation is created where the peasant is granted a right to the bare necessities of life, and it is wrong to kill or strip them of everything. The herdsmen may also grant respectful requests and remedy grievances. The third stage involves a tribe of herdsmen protecting the peasants from outside danger and becoming their protectors and saviors. This creates strong bonds and forms a sense of unity from common suffering and need.
The fourth stage of state development involves the union on one strip of land of both ethnic groups, which creates the concept of state territory. This territorial union may occur due to foreign influences, population increase, or cattle plagues. At this stage, the herdsmen stay in the neighborhood of their peasants to protect them against other groups and to prevent the peasants from seeking other overlords. However, local juxtaposition does not yet imply a state community in its narrowest sense. If the herdsmen are dealing with utterly unwarlike subjects, they continue their nomad life. If the country is not adapted to herding cattle on a large scale or where a less unwarlike population might make attempts at insurrection, the crowd of lords becomes more or less permanently settled, taking either steep places or strategically important points for their camps, castles, or towns. From these centers, they control their "subjects", mainly for the purpose of gathering their tribute, paying no attention to them in other respects. Their autochthonous constitution, their local officials, are, in fact, not interfered with. The author provides examples from different parts of the world to illustrate his point, including Abyssinia and ancient Mexico. The fifth stage involves the creation of a unital organization, where the herdsmen establish a state community with a political organization, and the sixth stage involves the development of state power.
Primitive states Chapter 3, "The Primitive Feudal State", begins with Section (a), titled "The Form of Dominion", which claims that the form of the state is "the dominion of a small warlike minority, interrelated and closely allied, over a definitely bounded territory and its cultivators", regulated by the law of custom. The duty of paying and working on the part of the peasants corresponds to the duty of protection on the part of the lords. The state concept involves economic exploitation, and the peasants surrender a portion of their product without any equivalent service in return. The state's purpose is found to be the political means for the satisfaction of needs, and its method is by exacting ground rent. The author argues that the state's form is always that of dominion, whereby exploitation is regarded as justice. However, the absolute right of the conqueror is narrowed within the confines of law for the sake of permitting the continuous acquisition of ground rents. At this point, the primitive state is completely developed in all its essentials.
Section (b), titled "The Integration", discusses the "subjective growth" of the state, particularly its "socio-psychological 'differentiation and integration'." "The net of psychical relations becomes ever tighter and closer enmeshed, as the economic amalgamation advances." Cultures, languages, and religions amalgamate into one. "The conquerors are held to be the sons of the old gods." The feeling of being different from the foreigner beyond the borders grows stronger among those within the "realm of peace." In the same measure, the feeling of belonging to another grows stronger, and "the spirit of fraternity and of equity, which formerly existed only within the horde and which never ceased to hold sway within the association of nobles, takes root everywhere, and more and more finds its place in the relations between the lords and their subjects." A strong feeling of solidarity develops, which can be called "a consciousness of belonging to the same state."