>[!abstract] >In political jargon, a self-licking ice cream cone is a self-perpetuating system that has no purpose other than to sustain itself. The term has been used to describe the purported habit of government-funded organizations and programs spending taxpayer money to lobby for more funding from the taxpayer (Wikipedia, 2025). >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Pournelle's iron law of bureaucracy]] >- **West** (similar): [[Shirky Principle]] >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): —