I would contest the notion that this is simply marketplace efficiency. We’ve burned through millions of years worth of stored solar energy in the last 100 year

I would contest the notion that this is simply marketplace efficiency. We’ve burned through millions of years worth of stored solar energy in the last 100 years, and not yet paid the full price for that. That’s essentially a massive injection of capital into our system. Of course that would raise the standard of living. Does the market have any sense of what needs to be done to preserve our goals as a species. (What are those exactly, anyway?) Attribution of moral goodness to something that has circumstantially caused some good but lacks any moral compass doesn’t seem to be a solid rock to found your religion on. And there are certain things that we disallow (and in fact revile) that strictly speaking would be more efficient market wise. (Buying and selling people, child labor, stuff like that). Although capitalism deserves its due (which is a fair bit), attributing all of recent human progress to it seems a bit much.