Abstract
This paper draws on the satire of Joseph Heller'sCatch-22 to examine the arguments posed by William J. Goode's analysis of the function of the inept in social life. Drawing on methodology developed in our earlier paper onCatch-22 (“Social Death: or What Happened to Doc Daneeka?”) this paper shows first the depiction of Major Major Major Major's group relationships which are useful in developing ideas which further Goode's essentially functionalist orientation; and second how other material from the novel extends the functionalist direction and presents an entirely new look at the sociology of the inept.
Essentially, Goode argues that in any society groups resolve the tension between the protection of the inept and the protection of the groups from the inept. An argument introduced fromCatch-22 submits that individuals actively choose to participate in the process of being inept.
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This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Conference on Sociology and the Arts at the State University of New York-Oswego, May 3–5, 1974.
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Lewis, J.M., Gregory, S.W. Extensions to the sociology of the inept. Qual Sociol 1, 58–78 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02429887
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02429887