What's on your mug?

We have reached late-stage capitalism. This is the era where businesses, investors and even the layperson will try everything they possibly can to capitalize on literally anything and every situation. The increasingly diverse stock industry and the booming crypto mining industry can be seen as one of the many aspects of late-stage capitalism. There is no single way to define late-stage capitalism, as the effects are most often seen on a micro scale and the scope is very broad as a result of the plethora of industries. Some of the various examples of late-stage capitalism could include, but are not limited to: profiting off of your attractive physique, selling your personal data, selling your poop, dropshipping, house flipping, game companies making every single game pay-to-win, news corporations putting paywalls on their news sites, smartphone companies removing the headphone jack to save money, paying people to say positive affirmations, etc etc. Essentially, it is capitalism but 10x more savage.

Thanks to the diverse range of markets, Jane was able to profit immensely from selling her bathwater, her used underwear, her poop, her sweat, her private browsing data, how many miles she walked, her emotions, her voice, and even her hair. Likewise, capitalists continue to venture into turning the most ordinary things into profitable commodities, while companies have lowered their standards to cut corners in every way possible to save money. This is late-stage capitalism in a nutshell.

By Mary Mary Quite The Contrarian

A critical term, popularized by economists and social theorists, describing the final, decadent phase of capitalism, characterized by systemic crises that can no longer be resolved within the existing structure. Features include: extreme wealth inequality, financialization (profits from speculation rather than production), chronic stagnation, ecological destruction, precarious labor (gig economy, zero‑hour contracts), erosion of public goods, and the rise of authoritarian political responses. Unlike earlier crises (recessions, depressions) that capitalism could overcome, late‑stage capitalism exhibits contradictions that point toward transformation or collapse: capital can no longer sustain profitability without destroying its own conditions (climate, social cohesion). Critics note that the term is often used loosely to critique any negative aspect of capitalism, but its core meaning is systemic, not moralistic.

Late-Stage Capitalism Example: “The housing crisis, the gig economy, and the abandonment of public health during a pandemic—all symptoms of late‑stage capitalism, where short‑term profit for the few trumps survival for the many.”

By Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal