But it may be noted that these associations can exist, and achieve their objects only within the framework of the State. and that we cannot abandon the doctrine of the sovereignty of the State. Without sovereignty there can be no state and without the state we cannot have variety of associations because for the collective life of man there must be some political organisation. If the State is to be abolished and replaced by autonomous associations, it is "not far removed from a condition of theoretical anarchy, in which each individual's conscience is the arbiter of his action." Figgis described the State as the Society of "Societies" and assigned to it "a distinctive function and a superior authority" as an agency of co-ordination and adjustment. He asserted that one of the chief values in the several smaller groups consists in the fact that they foster loyalty to the State. To quote Figgis again, ''It is largely to regulate such groups and to ensure that they do not outstep the bounds of justice that the coercive force of the State exists.