# The Violent Genesis of the State: Franz Oppenheimer

**URL:** <https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/portraits-of-liberty/the-violent-genesis-of-the-state-franz-oppenheimer>

**By** Paul Meany

**Published:** June 18, 2024

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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.