Oof. That is one view. There are others, that tend to note that society exists without state institutions - in fact, society is a necessary precondition to a st

Oof. That is one view. There are others, that tend to note that society exists without state institutions - in fact, society is a necessary precondition to a state. Some of these other views don't credit 'society' as something with a will or a reason, simply as an emergent property. That's not to say 'society' doesn't cause things to happen, but it does imply disagreement with the parent comment. I absolutely agree that states are primarily instruments of suppression and coercion. I just think that equating state and society is not only incorrect, but also heads down a potentially dangerous path. Societies emerge from being social animals in proximity, states emerge from negotiations, coercion, or some combination thereof.