My BELIEF is this. There are things in life that add value to our life, society and world, and there are things that are a waste. This philosophy is very much in line with the Toyota Production System which has had a great impact on the manufacturing sector. However, I think this philosophy works well in all aspects of life.

Your counting example is a classical case of a societal waste. Does counting add value to our society? No way. You could make an argument that it gives someone a job, but does that job advance our culture, or make all of us better people? No. We would all be better off if that person was a teacher in a struggling school. Do police and jails add value to our society? Not if we took care of people and educated them enough. The examples go on and on.

Let’s all start adding value to our world and eliminating the waste.