Thread: Ionization

Now, maybe I should have asked this question in chemistry, but I suspect that the answer has something to do with physics.
Basically, what my question is about, ions have stable electronic configuration. Atoms don't. So why isn't all the matter simply ionized?

Covalently bonded compounds also have stable configurations. I wonder if stable is not the wrong word and whether we should be talking about energy levels, and reaction barriers and that sort of thing.