Catch-22

The phrase 'Catch-22' comes from Joseph Heller's famous book of that name. In that book a fighter pilot asked to be excused flying duties on the grounds that he was insane: Since flying under the particular conditions involved in the book was regarded as highly dangerous this request showed signs of sanity, and he was therefore refused permission to be grounded. In other words if a pilot was sane enough not to want to fly then he could not be excused flying on the grounds of insanity.
If one looks around there are any number of catch-22 situations. Television producers are always crying out for new ideas but if the idea is really new they will not be able to tell from past experience whether it will work. So they say: 'Give us a new idea but if it is really new then we shall be unable to use it.' The same thing tends to happen in education. Teachers know that only the simple and direct methods actually work in the classroom. But on the other hand if they come across a method that is direct and simple they are apt to be unimpressed by it because it seems to lack the necessary theoretical and psychological jargon. Their particular catch-22 becomes: 'Give us something which is so complicated that we shall be impressed by it, but unable to use it.'
Business corporations suffer from the same problem. Senior executives are always on the lookout for talented juniors but if the junior is really talented then the senior executive fears that the junior might take over his job.
So this particular catch-22 becomes: 'We are always on the lookout for
promising managers, on condition that we do not find any good enough to threaten our own jobs.'
In-a parallel fashion the catch-22 situation applies to pricing. If the Post Offlce increases the cost of sending letters then it should get more revenue, except that fewer people will send letters and so revenue may fall.
The same applies to rail fares.
It may also apply to taxes. If taxes are very high then so much effort is spent on avoiding them that the actual yield to the Revenue department may fall.
The Schools Council in the United Kingdom, reacting to a request for funds in connection with the development of thinking as a school subject, provided a perfect catch-22: 'If the project is successful then it should not need extra funds; if it is not successful then it is not worth supporting.'