Catch-22 (logic)

A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules. An example would be:

To apply for a job, you need to have a few years of experience. But in order to gain experience, you need to get a job first.

Catch-22s often result from rules, regulations, or procedures that an individual is subject to but has no control over because to fight the rule is to accept it. Another example is a situation in which someone is in need of something that can only be had by not being in need of it. One connotation of the term is that the creators of the "catch-22" have created arbitrary rules in order to justify and conceal their own abuse of power.