This verse appears several times in the book of Judges:

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.

‭‭Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Without a standard or authority, individuals acted based on their own desires and interpretations of right and wrong, resulting in widespread chaos, corruption and violence.

The foreshadowing of the need for a king was obvious if society was to survive.

People have a need to be governed to thrive, flourish, and remain safe. Reasonable guidance with reasonable consequences are primary functions of social governance.

Problems accrue when government forces, controls, constrains, and constricts in excess.

As a takeaway, we need enough freedom to make our own individual good or bad choices but not so much freedom that political, philosophical, or social anarchy prevails.

God never forces his hand.

His standards lie in that realm of human choices: to love God and his standards that bring life, or to be lovers of self where everyone does as they see fit to their own eventual demise.