this has a lot of complex interactions between philosophy, economics and relationships. I'm sure that some philosopher somewhere would have something to say about this. Don't ask me what - I'm not at my most articulate right now. I sort of wish that one could leave economics out of the equation, but it does have such a large impact on the general level of Good Stuff for most people, even in a perfectly selfish way, in that one might quite like to buy a house.
As far as the economy goes, I think you just have to shut your eyes and hope - no-one's managed to model a successful economy, so I doubt we can actually _cultivate_ one.