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WTF is “Late-Stage Capitalism” Anyway?
A brief, semi-informed definition of a term I’ve been using a lot.
I’m guilty of parroting popular culture.
A reader (dare I say, a fan?) pointed out to me that I keep using the phrase “late-stage capitalism” in a throwaway manner, as if assuming that everyone knows and agrees on what that actually means.
Late-stage capitalism, as I’ve been using it, means that we’re at the extreme edge of the capacity of the current capitalist system to function.
The resources we use for our (Western) way of life (and the life that we aspire to) are both dwindling and also almost completely in the hands of about .01% of the population.
We’ve gone from purchasing things for what they actually do for us to what we hope they say about us, whether it’s our self-esteem or our reputation (he says, guiltily typing on his iPad, ignoring his iPhone, enjoying his noise-cancelling AirPods).
We’re obsessed with talking about ideas of things that literally have no real existence in reality (NFTs, cryptocurrency, and critical race theory come to mind for me, though I acknowledge that pronouns, plastic straws, and a lot of self-help might also qualify).
