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%EFFICIENCY VS HUMANITY 770921
Efficiency is a technical concept/value. Efficiency
involves measurement and computation. Efficiency can not
be computed regarding subjective activities, except by
coercing their essence into objective perspectives.
Efficiency can not be computed for novel untried objective
procedures--thus a preoccupation with efficiency
undermines motivation to try new ways of coping with
troublesome situations unresolved by traditional methods.
Efficiency will cause technocrats to measure/compute
comparisons among the traditional methods, rather than
consider essentially different and possibly non-technical
solutions to persistent problems and dilemmas. Since the
efficiency of non-technical modes of coping may be un-
calculable---technocrats may be reluctant to consider non-
technical responses to dilemmas.
An ultimate concern for efficiency prompts the
elimination of diversity, because conformity to a most
efficient procedure on the part of all people is perceived
to the over-all most efficient group behavior. The
perception may not be accurate, because the efficiency of
a collection of INDIVIDUALISTIC efficient behaviors---may
not be the most efficient group behavior when viewed in a
broad context. Computations of efficiency are, however,
usually carried out within an analytic framework in which
the whole is always equal to the sum of the parts.
In an era of scarcity efficiency with respect to
specific resources may become an ultimate concern and that
concern then carry over into an essentially different era
when the specific resources are not so relatively scarce--
due to a different environment, changes in life styles,
resource discoveries, resource substitutions, use
improvements, etc. Thus each generation needs to examine
the logic of valuing efficiency in each instance.
Each time an appeal is made to efficiency---loving
people need to ask what is to be accomplished by
efficiency in the broadest terms, not in narrow technical
terms. The ultimate concerns need to be articulated and
the relevance of efficiency to the ultimate concerns made
apparent. Unless this is done, an idolatry of efficiency
may develop unawares, where efficiency is valued for its
own sake as an ultimate value.
(c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in
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