Some would say our culture is one of efficiency, that we are constantly streamlining the difficulties, making life easier for ourselves and others.
Which is, of course, bullshit.
Our culture is one of convenience, and there’s a hell of a difference.
While the outcome of striving for efficiency isn’t always positive — as a species, we’re remarkably fucking adept at coming up with efficient ways to kill one another — the goal is always a savings of some sort. Of time, of resources. There’s a permanent trimming of fat.
With convenience, there is always a commensurate cost for achieving that “savings,” each and every time. Convenience is a purchased shortcut, a trade-off. And most of the time, it’s a rip-off; is it possible to go to a convenience store for toothpaste or ibuprofen or motor oil after everything else is closed and not bitch about the markup?