disjointed incrementalism

Disjointed incrementalism occurs when the making of policy is divided into stages, in such a way that by separately considering p₁, p₂, …, p_n we arrive at a conclusion less justifiable than if we had considered the whole, P. A paradigm example at the level of public decision-making occurs in road planning: A motorway is constructed from A to B. It creates such a large traffic flow entering B that there is a very powerful argument for extending it to C and so on to E. However, had we to consider a road from A to E per se, we might have seen more properly the disadvantages of such a scheme and either left well alone or built a railway. Disjointed incrementalism has acquired the nickname ‘salami politics’ for no better reason than that salami is a sausage almost invariably eaten in slices.

— Lincoln Allison