This week we explore the rise and development of the State. How did this system of plunder and violence originate and become so pervasive? What are the conditions necessary for the State to develop? Are there different forms of the State and how have these forms been expressed throughout history?  How are the victims of violence and plunder responsible for the establishment of the State?  How do the States of Egypt, Athens, Rome and the modern western parliamentary and republican models differ and what do they have in common?  How do modern states founded on principles of individual liberty and sovereignty justify their consistent violation of individual rights and plunder?