In capitalism the idea is to pit people's greed against other people's greed. In alternative methods, people's greed is still there, it just isn't as well checked. Take for instance some of the insane scientific beliefs held in the USSR. Someone in power wanted this to be true, so the scientists made it true-ish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism

I don't see them as separate, they are very much interconnected.

Tech progress is learning. The "economy" is the act of economizing; learning to do more with less. It's a virtuous cycle.