My objection is actually twofold. One, I deny that the state has a single purpose (to screw the lower classes). Two, I deny that the state has a single origin (the origin of class society). Things are much more complicated than that. I would hypothesize that the most likely origin of the state (that is, a system of administration) is the beginning of societies that are too big and too complicated, and too dependent on the correct working together of their various parts, to not require specialization and routinization of functions. If you have a large territory and need regular shipments of food from one side to the other, you need somebody to make sure this gets done at the right time in the right quantities to the right places. You need people to guard that route along which the shipments are being transported. You need people to equip and train the guards with the right amount of equipment and the right training and determine the number of guards
needed. This equipment has to be produced in the right quantity. Etc. The origin of the state is pure logistical necessity.
You do not need a state to have a class society, BTW. ====================================== This reviewer is still not persuaded that people will be reading Doss on the origins of the state long after Engels is forgotten. On to the family and private property next?