I had a client just this week say that she didn’t want to invest in the stock market because it didn’t fit within her values. Her comment made me think about how our investments connect with our values. Many people, including me, use stock market investing, a tool of capitalism, to create more wealth for retirement. Those investments connect us to companies with differing values. That doesn’t mean investing and our values can’t fit together, but it does raise questions about what we support with our money. Her comment led me to learn more about late-stage capitalism: what is it, does it exist today, and how do we navigate it?
To begin our discussion, let’s look at what capitalism is.
What is capitalism?
Capitalism is an economic system where people and businesses own and control how goods and services are produced and distributed. That means that anyone can have an idea for a product and start a business to make and distribute that product. They hire people to do the work and make a profit for themselves. Prices for goods and services are determined by supply and demand. There’s also some corporate power, government regulation and human psychology sprinkled in.
What is good and bad about capitalism?
The Good:
Capitalism drives new ideas, competition and economic growth. These can lead to a higher standard of living. Competition can help keep companies efficient. Supply and demand can help keep prices balanced. It gives people choice in what they want to do and where they want to work.
The Bad:
Capitalism sounds pretty great, right? It’s not that simple. Capitalism incentivizes maximizing profits. Without proper government regulations, this can mean low wages for workers, a growing wealth gap, environmental pollution and economic instability.
What is late-stage capitalism? A bit about its history.
Capitalism started developing in the 1500s in Europe as trade expanded. The Industrial Revolution really expanded capitalism, and business boomed.
Adam Smith wrote a book called The Wealth of Nations in 1776. He believed capitalism could create more wealth and grow the economy. People could focus on work they did well.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a philosopher, economist and historian. He believed that capitalism creates a power imbalance between the owners and workers. He believed that eventually the workers would feel exploited and overthrow capitalism.
The term late-stage capitalism was coined by Werner Sombart, a German economist in the early 1900s. He considered late-stage capitalism to be the economic and social issues that came up after World War 1, including the Great Depression.
Fredric Jameson, a Marxist, brought the term “late capitalism” back to life in 1991. He connected capitalism and culture. He described the cultural changes as “catastrophe and progress all together.”
In everyday use today, late-stage capitalism is essentially the bad things about capitalism becoming more exaggerated. It isn’t so much a clearly defined economic stage but a way of interpreting these patterns.
Why late-stage capitalism happens?
Some may say that capitalism is fueled by greed, but it’s really a system that reinforces itself. Capitalism rewards profit, growth and accumulation. Incentives can eventually overpower social values.
Publicly traded companies face pressure to keep increasing profits and make money for their shareholders. This pressure can drive late-stage capitalism.
Companies find new ways to keep consumers spending money by coming up with new marketing strategies and new products for us to buy.
Indicators of late-stage capitalism
Signs often associated with late-stage capitalism include:
- An increase in the concentration of wealth
- Greater wealth inequality
- Less secure employment
- More dependence on debt
- Rising costs of essentials like housing and food. These basic human needs are at the foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
- Greater corporate concentration. This can reduce competition and give companies the ability to charge higher prices.
- Companies not paying for the environmental cleanup of the damage that they caused.
What’s happening in Canada now that may indicate late-stage capitalism?
Necessities like housing and groceries are for-profit industries in Canada. Housing is used as an investment by many, while roughly 33% of renters pay over 30% of their income towards rent. This is considered unaffordable by Statistics Canada. Grocery retailer Loblaw has seen its share price almost triple in the last five years. Visits to food banks across Canada reached almost 2.2 million in March 2025, nearly double the number in March 2019.
The wealthiest 20% of Canadian households own 66% of the wealth, while the bottom 40% own only 3%. Side jobs are becoming more common. Almost half of those doing gig work through an online platform like Uber did it to supplement their primary job.
Environmental cleanup costs can sometimes be passed on to the public. In 2020, for example, the federal government committed $1.72 billion to clean up inactive oil and gas wells in Western Canada.
Suggestions on how to navigate late-stage capitalism
Canadian author Chantel Chapman wrote about reimagining capitalism in her book The Trauma of Money. She used the word Gapitalism with a “G” to reinforce the inequalities that capitalism can lead to. She encourages people to consider their culture and community in how they earn, spend and run a business. The goal isn’t to accumulate as much wealth as possible but to create a community where everyone can thrive.
Here are tangible ways you can reimagine capitalism:
Build financial resilience. This can look like knowing the fair market value for the work you do and advocating for it when possible. Keep your fixed costs manageable and build an emergency fund.
Build non-financial wealth: social capital. There are so many things in life more valuable than wealth. Friends, neighbours and family all create a sense of worth that isn’t tied to your net worth.
Align your money with your values. Be aware of consumer culture and how you are marketed to. Be intentional with your spending. Buy local and support small businesses when you can. Consider whether your investments align with your values, too.
Where does your money reflect your values? What is one small change you’d like to make? A financial counsellor can help you explore what that could look like in your own life.
