[chwahoo]

I doubt many people are using G+ circles for the value judgments your post seems to imply. Labeling people as "family", "sorority sisters", or "coworkers" is not such a tough decision and I think few would say its a "bad thing to do".

On the other hand, perhaps there's some use for having a circle of people unlikely to be offended by your dirty jokes or political rants, but even applying those labels doesn't seem too onerous or harmful (there's a safe default for tricky cases).