Robert Higgs on the limits of government

The willingness of citizens to tolerate costs, which must be borne if the policies are to be carried out, declines as costs rise... Even the (initially) most popular war loses support as casualties mount, tax burdens rise, and military appetites consume more of the resources needed to produce civilian goods and services.  Government officials know that the citizens have limits.  Pushing them beyond the limits jeopardizes not only the success of the policies but the very survival of governments.

~ Robert Higgs, Crisis and Leviathan, pp. 64-65