Lithospheric buckling due to compressive forces requires excessively large stresses. With some modifications of the elastic plate buckling problem, significant deformation can occur at compressive stresses of a few kbars, an order of magnitude less than required to induce elastic buckling. Three modifications are proposed. (i) The plate is considered as an effective viscoelastic layer subjected to an initial perturbation. (ii) When a compressive force is applied these perturbations are magnified and then grow with time. (iii) Uplifted areas are eroded and sediments are deposited in the downwarped areas. This mechanism appears to be relevant to the formation of some intracratonic basins such as those in central Australia. The mechanism can lead to significant orogenies away from plate boundaries such as the Petermann Rangers Orogeny and the Alice Springs Orogeny of central Australia.