I would rather have recourse in the political system than increased efficiency. I believe many well-to-do moderns also feel that way.

Making the pie bigger is great. I think technocratic governance is cool and good actually. I also think it has to come out of a popular democratic framework even if that makes the technocracy less efficient.

Example: I want more bike lanes, but I'm not going to unilaterally push for cars/drivers to be abolished. I want to convince them that more bikes means less traffic. I want my fellow citizens to believe in my idea thru convincing as opposed to enforcing it on high.