Stein's law

English en For a government, as a borrower, if the situation of amassing ever-larger indebtedness and debt service within a context of currency stability cannot go on forever, then eventually that situation will end, whether through decline in creditworthiness or through inflation of the currency. Etymology Formulated by Herbert Stein in the 1980s. Proper noun A certain principle or any of several aphorisms expressing it: If something cannot go on forever, it will eventually stop. en Leaving aside the point that what goes up must come down, Stein's law says that if infinite height is not possible then the rising will eventually stop. See also en Stein's phenomenon<qq:different concept, different Stein> en eponyms