The term flypaper theory has two distinct meanings:
- In economics, the flypaper theory is the idea that the burdens of taxation "stick" to those taxed directly instead of spreading through the economy.
- In military strategy, the flypaper theory is the idea that it is desirable to lure one's enemies into a single country or area where they can be more effectively dealt with.
Famous quotes containing the word theory:
“The theory [before the twentieth century] ... was that all the jobs in the world belonged by right to men, and that only men were by nature entitled to wages. If a woman earned money, outside domestic service, it was because some misfortune had deprived her of masculine protection.”
—Rheta Childe Dorr (1866–1948)