Thoughts on Efficiency

I suppose it is time I try to write something a bit more serious and perhaps even thought provoking. I posted an article several months back roughly outlining a vision for a possible alternative to the current capitalist system. Not many people responded, but I've been thinking about one friend's response for a while now. Here is an excerpt:

"Much as I feel capitalism is a vicious and pitiless system, I still find I can't agree with the arguments presented because:
1. I believe that man in his fallen state is inherently selfish and greedy.
2. I still believe my 5th grade teacher who told me that division of labor is a good thing because of the efficiencies involved. . .

The reason capitalism works is because it rewards the inherent greediness in man and uses it to drive production. "

I have especially thought about the division of labor aspect, and the idea of efficiency. There is no denying that capitalism is an extremely efficient system. However, I think there are some problems with efficiency. First of all, we are producing so much, so efficiently that we are efficiently destroying our world. The problem gets more complicated, because the capitalist system requires consumption in order to continue functioning. When consumption goes down, people lose jobs. And higher efficiency may mean that the same amount of production yields fewer jobs in the first place. So, we are stuck in the middle of needing to produce and consume more in order to keep the system running and keep people employed, and needing to produce and consume less in order to continue living on the planet.

As my friend admits, "Capitalism is a vicious and pitiless system." My question then becomes, "What's so inherently great about efficiency anyway?" The way I see it, we need two things: 1) Increase the amount of jobs with livable wages and 2) consume less. In short, we need to be less efficient.

The other points I would sum up like this:
1. Humanity is naturally bad.
2. Capitalism rewards people for being bad.
3. This makes us produce (and therefore consume) more.

As a Christian, I feel compelled to reject as unsustainable a system that is vicious and pitiless, rewards people for going against the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven, and encourages the destruction of our planet and the violation of human rights. Perhaps the article's vision for an alternative is not a completely viable option. Even if it isn't, I cannot bring myself to accept the realities of capitalism as the best we can come up with.

We are destroying our world. Is efficiency really that necessary?