I think they're interrelated. Look at how the European colonization of the Americas coincided with the Renaissance. They only happened because of a few key tech

I think they're interrelated. Look at how the European colonization of the Americas coincided with the Renaissance. They only happened because of a few key technologies reaching a certain point of evolutionary maturity. You needed the square rig, pintle-and-gudgeon rudder, compass, star charts, oil paint, double entry accounting... (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hukkfbevWM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hukkfbevWM) We still have more problems to resolve (such as the finite nature of terrestrial resources) before all undesirable but necessary tasks are automated, and we can spend our lives entirely on art/science.