Robots work really well for manufacturing. What they don't work well for is repairs.
IMO, the natural progression that combats the impact of robots is to transition from a "buy a new one" society to a "fix the old one" society. There's an entire service industry there that mitigates waste, is better for the environment, is entirely localized and isn't realistically ever going to fit the "make the robot do it" line of work. 3D printers should make this even easier.
The only thing that makes the current approach work is people not feeling the cost of waste disposal due to free trash pickup. As soon as disposal's real costs are actually attached to it you'll begin to shift people's mindsets to products that are built to last instead of built to replace. Investing in a purchase that's harder to repair than replace is one of the reasons for a lot of the issues that we experience in society today.
EDIT: Apparently many European countries charge $2/lb for trash pickup but recycling is free, just as an example on that note.
IMO, the natural progression that combats the impact of robots is to transition from a "buy a new one" society to a "fix the old one" society. There's an entire service industry there that mitigates waste, is better for the environment, is entirely localized and isn't realistically ever going to fit the "make the robot do it" line of work. 3D printers should make this even easier.
The only thing that makes the current approach work is people not feeling the cost of waste disposal due to free trash pickup. As soon as disposal's real costs are actually attached to it you'll begin to shift people's mindsets to products that are built to last instead of built to replace. Investing in a purchase that's harder to repair than replace is one of the reasons for a lot of the issues that we experience in society today.
EDIT: Apparently many European countries charge $2/lb for trash pickup but recycling is free, just as an example on that note.
http://www.wisebread.com/should-we-pay-2-per-pound-for-garba...
http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/recycling.html