efficiency is a companion of productivity: the more a person can do in less time, the more economically valuable that person is and the more pay s/he will command in the market. So in the business world, efficiency is best for everyone - the boss gets a return on investment, the employee gets raised and might even decide to purchase more leisure time. So economic efficiency promotes individual choice by making people more productive and thus more valuable and empowered.
Outside the business world I have some seriously conflicting feelings. An efficient government will in many ways be very good at limiting liberty. How efficient do you want your traffic cops to be? Your parking enforcement agents? The IRS? Some creakiness in its joints sure helps make life livable. On the other hand, wasted resources appears to be a chronic plague in government, and I can't think of many arguments in favor of it.
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