I intend here to coment on the subject of efficiency.
One reason I have observed that modern society is inefficient is that modern free-market capitalism is inefficient.
The driving force behind today’s ‘free-market’ economy is consumption. If no one consumed anything, the economy could not function; there would also be no reason for it to exist. But we do consume, whether we need to or not; and indeed, we need to (at least to some extent). Simply put, we need to eat. So we consume (in both the physical and economic sense) food and related commodities (spoons and toilet paper, for example).
The needed-consumption economy is bolstered by our wants. We want things, generally speaking. So we consume them. We buy tennis shoes, we go to movies, we get cable TV. We don’t need any of these things-- the Masai get along fine without them-- but we consume them.
But nothing amplifies the consumption-based economy like waste. Buy a frozen ‘TV’ dinner. That’s a wastage jackpot right there: the plastic film, the paper tray, the scraps you don’t scrape off the tray, the space in the landfill, the garbage bag, the electricity you used to heat it up. Sure, you counter; but preparing that all from scratch wuld have created just as much waste. No, not if you recycled the paper the meat was wrapped in, composted the potato peelings, and used the dishwater to moistem your plants. But who really does those things? Few of us. They take time. They take effort. They’re not fun. And if the dinner didn’t fill you up, you’ll soon consume something else-- a statement which reveals that it is logical for the manufacturer to make those meals just a little too small for the average palate.
Another example: a trip to the movie theatre. You drive there, of course. Gasoline and engine oil both consumed. Wear on the automotive components. You’ll have to buy more gas, an oil change, parts and service. You park in a vast, paved lot. Asphalt, curbs, paint on the ground-- is any of it really essential? The film in the projector. The projector itself. The popcorn, the paper cup holding the drink together, the straw, the paper towels in the washroom. It’s all accessory waste to the film.
The economy thrives on waste. A society of people that eat big macs by the million downgrade their health. Some of them buy exercise machines. Most of them use up health resources because their diets (and associated habits-- I’m not blaming this all on McDonald’s) have clogged up their arteries. Some pay for weight-loss plans, some pay for liposuction, some have to get counseling for the psychological effects of obesity. (I know-- thse are all a little extreme-- but expense begets expense, and that’s what I’m trying to say.)
So waste begets waste. And we’re stopped in our tracks by it daily; Road salt causes a lot of insidious damage, but it has only benefits to the economy. It corrodes your car, the sidewalk, the public fixtures? More money spent, more resources used on fixing them. It damages the ecology in surrounding wetlands? Government and private money spent on studies and cleanup. A child eats some snow containing salt and dirt? Even accidental ingestion? Child becomes poisoned? The economy thrives: parents drive child to hospital, consume gas. Health-care resources used to treat child, government or parents must pay (depending on where you live). Child’s condition worsens- child transferred to hospital in major centre- parents travel to be with child, expend money on travel, accomodation, stuffed animal for child. Worst-case scenario (I know, I know. Road salt, though poisonous, causes few deaths. Think of this as a illustration, rather than branding it hyperbole.): child dies. Undertaker gets more business. So do travel agencies when relatives come to funeral.
One’s emotional reaction to the above examples is of no consequence. Such events can and do occur-- people buy pre-fab food, they go to movies, they get sick. And all of these things are very good for the free-market economy. They are also very inefficient.
But the modern market economy, with it’s self-accelerating grip on consumption and everyday practices, is really just a symptom of something bigger. After all, the U.S.S.R. wasn’t a big centre of capitalism, but it had it’s share of inefficiency. And so do things that have little to do with economics.
I have begun to ponder a theory. And I’ve yet to find strong evidence to refute it. It is as follows:
Humanity is inherently inefficient.
And to argue this statement, I must now turn to the concept of belief. (But this may not be apparent for a short while.)
Is humanity indeed inherently inefficient? We need not look far for evidence to support the affirmative.
We do violence. We make war. Oh, how we make war: almost constantly since the dawn of civilization- and certainly before that, albeit in perhaps a different manner. We rape, and murder, and steal, and destroy, and terrorize, and lie. All of these things create disorder, be it psychological trauma that interferes with function, the destruction of a building, the scattering of a town’s residents, the loss of resources.
We socialize. We entertain ourselves. We play jokes. We sing. We dance. We make freinds. We pass through childhood. We explore, we build, we love. These too are inefficient, on the whole:
Socializing usually wastes time and resources, even if it’s only personal energy. It’s also a jumping point for economic consumption (ie, going to the theatre with some freinds).
Entertainment (including song and dance) is a use of energy, with no need. If a psychologist tells you we need it, take that as confirmation that humans are inefficient to the core. (If we need to waste energy…)
A practical joke aims to do nothing more than create disorder, at least momentarily.
Exploration leads to lost expeditions, great expense, distruption of that which is discovered, and so on. Building things uses resources, and they are usually irretrievable. And most buildings aren’t made to be efficient, but for aesthetics. Both of these examples do see gain, but inefficiency never fails to make it’s mark.
Children are perhaps the most inefficient of us all. They misunderstand, they make errors, they injure themselves, they more easily waste than a fully socialized adult (generally). They feed the plants milk, and colour on the walls.
Lastly, think of freindship and love. How much energy and effort is expended on each of these? How many people pursue someone, only to find out they’re going out with someone else? How many flowers are sacrificed, cards are sent, gifts are bestowed? How much inefficient behaviour is practiced? Have you ever stayed up late with freinds when you shouldn’t have? Have you ever spent a little too much on your significant other? The emotions, the social structures, and the related actions are all inherently inefficient.
In a similar manner, we go out of our way to experience things. We want to ‘try’ this and ‘feel’ that; we want to feel 'truly alive, or ‘fully human’. And so people break legs ski-jumping and necks bungee-jumping; teenagers get drunk and young girls get pregnant. It would be far more efficient to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of others-- isn’t that why we record information? Isn’t that the whole purpose behind books and letters and storytelling?
Why do we do all of these things (from war to love, ad everything in between)? Because of belief. (Oh, good, you might say; finally the point.)
Each of those examples of inherently inefficient human behahaviour stems from a single inefficient human practice: belief.
We go to war beause we believe our cause is just. So does the enemy.
We act on emotions such as love, hate, anger and joy because we belive they are worth acting on.
We create children because we believe we should reproduce, or because we want them, and belive our wants warrant action.
We go to the trouble of ‘experiencing things’ because we believe they are worth experiencing.
We want things because we believe they would bring some benefit- real or emotional.
So since it is the nature of humans to want, to emote, and to believe, humans cannot be efficient. Unless one is willing to cast off non-essential concumption, as well as love, war, and childhood, one cannot aspire to any real degree of efficiency. Unfortunately, most would argue that it is these very things that make humanity human.
To be human is to be inefficient.