On the other hand, when you say "most efficient", I'll ask naively -- "most efficient at doing what, exactly?".

If the answer is "generating profit within the current economy" then that clearly isn't always a positive thing. In many cases there are some very negative effects.

I think there is arguably more value in having an additional well-educated poorly-paid person reflecting upon society and suggesting alternative objectives (provided that this can eventually be translated into public debate) - who perhaps never earns very much, and never pays off their student loans - than an additional highly profitable person who is (at best) making us all incrementally more efficient at doing whatever it is precisely that we're already doing (and at worst just reallocating wealth to themselves).