Full Idea
Observation tells us that every state is an association; and that every state is formed with a view to some good purpose.
Gist of Idea
Every state is an association formed for some good purpose
Source
Aristotle (Politics [c.332 BCE], 1252a01)
Book Reference
Aristotle: 'Politics', ed/tr. Sinclair,T.A. /Saunders,T. [Penguin 1992], p.54
A Reaction
Not so much a historical speculation, I think, as an assertion that it should be obvious what binds a state together, and hence has allowed it to endure.