> My own view (without academic seal of approval) is that efficiency is the main factor that determines our well-being.

Well, "productivity" for efficiency, but yes, you're essentially correct. I wasn't trying to defend Aaron's post, and indeed, economists do differ, widely, on various things. It's a relatively recent field, one where there are lots of messy human factors, and of course it's difficult to do many experiments.

I'd rather not see it here, though, as it usually rapidly devolves into essentially political discussions.