The "law of the jungle" did prevail before the state came into existence. Humans are social creatures who defended territory as well as expanded what they held.
Refer to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The state is supposed to protect our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness according to the Declaration of Independence, although that is recognized only in a general sense, i.e. it can't protect everybody all of the time. The Second Amendment of the Constitution recognizes your right to protect yourself and your property. The British Bill of Rights, from which the the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights was derived, evolved from common law, an invention of the state so disputes between various parties might not become violent.
“...it can’t protect everybody all of the time.”
“...common law, an invention of the state so disputes between various parties might not become violent.”
And the ones who benefit praise the State while the ones who come up on the short end complain about the shortcomings of the state, which doesn’t take away from the fact that the State has a lot of shortcomings worthy of complaint.