Is there a word or idiom for a proposal or action that is unintentionally self-defeating?
For example:
We all agree that we have too many x. I therefore propose creating an x to standardise our approach and reduce the number in future.
Real-life examples often use different terminology for the two x's thereby reducing the chance of detection to the casual observer.
Consider shoot oneself in the foot, per wiktionary:
To act against one's own interests; to unintentionally behave self-destructively.
Consider the expression Pyrrhic Victory, named for an ancient King whose army defeated Rome, at the loss of almost the entire army. This is sometimes stated as "winning the battle but losing the war."
Proposal: oxymoron:
a combination of words that have opposite or very different meanings
Action: self-goal or own goal:
Informal An action by which one unintentionally harms oneself or one's allies: The senator's belligerent response to the allegations was a bit of an own goal.
