Two good questions. I'm not sure exactly what kind of relationship you have in mind with the robot economy, but to me one important thing to remember is that the despite the displacement of workers from manufacturing the total level of employment in all sectors is higher than it's ever been. So the decline of employment in goods production doesn't mean the end of workers or whatever. I'd actually say the more important relationship is not the effect of the robot economy on Keynesianism but vice versa - if demand were to remain strong over a long period, would the increased demand (for labor and investment goods) lead to an acceleration of automation-driven productivity growth?
I think of stock buybacks as evidence that there is an excess of liquid capital over currently profitable investment opportunities. If this is the case, I think it strengthens Keynes's basic argument that the community's investment needs cannot reliably be entrusted to private profit seekers, but should be stabilized and directed by some sort of socialization of the investment function.
Two good questions. I'm not sure exactly what kind of relationship you have in mind with the robot economy, but to me one important thing to remember is that the despite the displacement of workers from manufacturing the total level of employment in all sectors is higher than it's ever been. So the decline of employment in goods production doesn't mean the end of workers or whatever. I'd actually say the more important relationship is not the effect of the robot economy on Keynesianism but vice versa - if demand were to remain strong over a long period, would the increased demand (for labor and investment goods) lead to an acceleration of automation-driven productivity growth?
I think of stock buybacks as evidence that there is an excess of liquid capital over currently profitable investment opportunities. If this is the case, I think it strengthens Keynes's basic argument that the community's investment needs cannot reliably be entrusted to private profit seekers, but should be stabilized and directed by some sort of socialization of the investment function.