We hear a lot about late capitalism these days, mostly on Facebook and Twitter. A million dollar investment in an app that allows you to send the word “yo”? Late capitalism. $25 nap pods? Late capitalism. $16 cocktails? Late capitalism. (Wait until Twitter finds out about $38 Bloody Marys.)
It’s a social media punchline for jaded liberals, and the joke is always the same: Capitalism, having run its course, is increasingly devoted to frivolity and decadence, to solving the niche problems of the wealthy and comfortable. Tagging something as late capitalism is a way of signaling, with mock exasperation, that market economies have stopped solving real problems, or providing anything of real value. It’s an easy form of snark that nearly anyone can participate in from the convenience of a mass-market $500 pocket computer. LOL, please like, vote Bernie.
I’ll grant the point, at least partially. The Yo app was silly. I can take naps on my couch at home for free. The cocktails, however, are pretty good. Capitalism’s end game is nothing if not tasty.
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