… is from page 3 of philosopher Aeon Skoble’s 2008 book Deleting the State (original emphasis):
In the liberal tradition, there is no natural being called ‘a state’. The state is a social institution. Indeed, one of the hallmarks of the liberal tradition is the insistence on the artificiality of the state.
(Of course, Aeon uses the word “liberal” here in its original, correct meaning.)
