The Shirky principle is the adage that “institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution”. More broadly, it can also be characterized as the adage that “every entity tends to prolong the problem it is solving”.

Examples of the Shirky principle

An example of the Shirky principle are tax-filing companies who lobby the government to prevent it from offering a free and easy way to file taxes, to ensure that the companies can continue to make a profit. A similar example of this are private prison companies who lobby the government to support policies that increase the number of incarcerated people and the duration of their incarceration.