Franz Oppenheimer was a German sociologist and political economist. Oppenheimer's views are libertarian and he considered himself to be a liberal socialist. He was greatly influenced by such anarchistic thinkers as Proudhon and Kropotkin but also by libertarians such as Henry George and in line with the thinking of Albert Jay Nock. Oppenheimer sees the state as being born in violence and resulting from the oppression of one class by another. However, he does not completely condemn the state, remaining neutral in this book and maintaining the stance of a classical liberal. Oppenheimer's views are also tinted with a belief in progress, democracy, and evolutionism, and as such he believed that the state could eventually be overcome and result in a democratic society of freemen. This book is an important read for the serious student of history. It adds that extra level of knowledge that one would otherwise not even think about.