"Association...grew out of a sense of difference; for the middle class, it meant crossing class lines to bring together people of diverse identities and conditions". According to David Lewis, during the late 19th and early 20th century the new middle class required “...sanctioned private accumulation underwritten by a state which maintained legal order and stability"· As a result, the state needed to become powerful enough to maintain order, but not so strong as to become oppressive; neither laissez-faire nor statist. Finding this balance between transgressing autonomy and dangerous accumulation of power could prove difficult, and associationalism appeared to be a possible solution.