“A land that loves its ruler will die for him, or her, willingly. They will throw their bodies on the machines of war in the hopes that their blood slows, or stops, the threat against their beloved ruler. And while they love you, you will take what you want from them as they sit fat, happy, and content. Give them games. Give them fair wages and reasonable taxes and they will sing your name. The poor are dangerous, for they have nothing to live for. Those with more, a middle class if you will, are easily fooled provided you give them something else to hold their attention. And while you give them things like literacy, alcohol, public games, sex, and the illusion of free commerce, they will do nothing more than claim you are the greatest ruler of them all, defending you while you rob them blind. All you have to do is reap the benefit of a blind populace who are too occupied with their own boring lives. That, my Baron Grimskull, is villainy. Let others die for you and pay you while they do.”
–from location 638 of Villains Rule by M. K. Gibson