late capitalism
Profit-driven end times
Late capitalism is a term for the current phase of capitalist economies, typically implying critique.
It suggests a system in advanced decay or approaching transformation—marked by extreme wealth concentration, commodification of everything, corporate dominance, and absurdist consumer culture.
Often used sardonically to frame modern phenomena as symptoms of systemic dysfunction: Paying for an app to remind you to drink water is peak late capitalism.
One seller, no substitutes
- conglomerateCorporation spanning many industries
- mergerCorporate combination
- acquisitionAct of obtaining something
- AmazonGreek warrior women
lobbying · shareholder value · quarterly earnings · supply chain · vertical integration · corporate welfare · tax avoidance · intellectual property
State of being isolated
- neoliberalismPro-market, anti-regulation ideology
- no alternativeSole available course
- dystopiaImaginary terrible society
- accelerationismIntensify systems to destroy them
manufactured consent · false consciousness · recuperation · postmodernism · disillusionment · Marxist analysis
Work based on temporary contracts
- precarityState of persistent vulnerability
- freelanceSelf-employed project work
- burnoutChronic occupational depletion
- hustle cultureCelebrating relentless career ambition
wage stagnation · zero-hour contracts · automation · deskilling · unions · outsourcing · offshoring · layoffs
Commercial product names
- advertisingPaid promotional communication
- marketingPromoting goods to consumers
- commodificationTransforming into sellable goods
- retail therapyShopping to improve mood
fast fashion · planned obsolescence · influencer culture · conspicuous consumption · status symbols · consumer debt · Black Friday · unboxing
Economic inequality measure
- poverty wagesPay too low to survive on
- oligarchyRule by few
- plutocracyRule by the rich
- housing crisisSevere lack of affordable dwellings
food insecurity · gentrification · social mobility · underclass · working poor · tax havens · inheritance · glass ceiling
Unproven theorizing or risky investment
- derivativesThings derived from another
- hedge fundsPooled alternative investment vehicles
- private equityCapital for unlisted companies
- asset bubblesUnsustainable price inflation
credit default swaps · quantitative easing · too big to fail · rent-seeking · cryptocurrency · NFTs · venture capital · IPO
monopoly
One seller, no substitutes
- conglomerateCorporation spanning many industries
- mergerCorporate combination
- acquisitionAct of obtaining something
Amazon · lobbying · shareholder value · quarterly earnings · supply chain · vertical integration · corporate welfare · tax avoidance · intellectual property · tech giants
alienation
State of being isolated
- neoliberalismPro-market, anti-regulation ideology
- no alternativeSole available course
- dystopiaImaginary terrible society
accelerationism · manufactured consent · false consciousness · recuperation · postmodernism · disillusionment · Marxist analysis
gig economy
Work based on temporary contracts
- precarityState of persistent vulnerability
- freelanceSelf-employed project work
- burnoutChronic occupational depletion
hustle culture · wage stagnation · zero-hour contracts · automation · deskilling · unions · outsourcing · offshoring · layoffs · quiet quitting
brands
Commercial product names
- advertisingPaid promotional communication
- marketingPromoting goods to consumers
- commodificationTransforming into sellable goods
retail therapy · fast fashion · planned obsolescence · influencer culture · conspicuous consumption · status symbols · consumer debt · Black Friday · unboxing · dropshipping
wealth gap
Economic inequality measure
- poverty wagesPay too low to survive on
- oligarchyRule by few
- plutocracyRule by the rich
housing crisis · food insecurity · gentrification · social mobility · underclass · working poor · tax havens · inheritance · glass ceiling · hoarding
speculation
Unproven theorizing or risky investment
- derivativesThings derived from another
- hedge fundsPooled alternative investment vehicles
- private equityCapital for unlisted companies
asset bubbles · credit default swaps · quantitative easing · too big to fail · rent-seeking · cryptocurrency · NFTs · venture capital · IPO · market volatility
- MarxismMarx, Karl Marx, Engels, Friedrich Engels, proletariat
- capitalism critiquewealth inequality, income inequality, wealth gap, income gap, class divide
- postmodernismdeconstruction, metafiction, hyperreality, pastiche, metanarrative
- Frankfurt SchoolWalter Benjamin, critical theory, nonidentity, constellation
late capitalismsocialism
Communal economic control
communism · central planning · post-capitalism · collectivism · command economy
late capitalismindustrial capitalism
Factory-based profit-driven economy
mercantilism · feudalism · Fordism · agrarian economy · cottage industry
late, capitalism, capitalist, capitalists, anticapitalism, anticapitalist, state capitalism, crony capitalism, post-capitalism