Late-stage capitalism paints a grim picture of the future of the United States. Late-stage capitalism is when a society exhibits “intensified wealth inequality, exploitation of labor, commodification of all aspects of life, environmental destruction, and excessive corporate influence over politics.” On a more personal level, everyone can see the effects of late-stage capitalism and how it changes our day-to-day existence. No one knows what the future may hold, but we can prove that we are close to the end of our capitalist way of society. 

“Should we not stop everything we’re doing and figure out how to take better care of our kids?” says TikToker @molesrcool. 

Teachers report the serious problems they are facing in classrooms all across the nation. It is a constant struggle to get students to learn and engage with material. Online, there are several distressing videos of teachers calling out for help. They report that some students can’t even do basic spelling and grammar in the 7th grade. A product of COVID-19 and a lack of parenting, students are often 3 grades behind what they should be. Teachers are taking to social media to call attention to this harrowing development- the failure to educate the young, left unchecked, could be devastating for the future. 

“I teach 7th grade, they are still performing on the 4th-grade level. I don’t care how you flip it, turn it, swing it, they are still performing on the 4th-grade level… why don’t yall know that your kids are not performing on their grade level?” says TikToker/teacher QBSkiiii.

I also teach 7th grade and we have kids that have math grade level equivalence of 1st and 2nd grade, 3rd grade, many at 4th grade, very few at grade level…these kids can’t read, they can’t do code, they have no vocabulary, no background knowledge, I’ve never seen anything like it” says TikToker/teacher @finallyanedd. For more, “They can’t write a sentence, they don’t know what state they live in, they don’t know what region of the country they are in, they have no background knowledge, most of them don’t know who the president is.”

What striking videos. What a scary thing for teachers to be saying about the children of this country. Where are the parents? Did they give them an iPad before they could walk and hope it would teach them basic education? There’s no doubt that we are taking a hard hit right now. The question is whether or not we can mitigate the effects before they become too harmful.

This development can, and will, trickle up the ladder: more and more students, like the ones mentioned in the video, will grow up to hate learning. They will despise their teachers and the education system while simultaneously failing society. If we can prevent this from happening, somehow, and convince students to take pride in their education, then we can save the future. This is one onset of late-stage capitalism: a society where big companies rule, shape policy, and impact almost every aspect of life. An indifferent generation of technology-consumed Americans is the first step to corporate takeover.

The second step is inflation. Money doesn’t feel real. 

With the recent shift from physical money to digital currency, money has lost its touch. We don’t know what a hundred, million, or a billion dollars feels or looks like as everything’s digital. Have you ever seen 1000 dollars in person? Do you know what it’s like to hold 1 million dollars? Can a bank even give someone a billion dollars in person? Can Elon Musk transfer all of his digital money to coin? 

As a person navigating society, I can’t help but call out the inauthenticity of it all. How does every article of clothing I own cost more than 50 bucks? Why does every meal- as simple as rice and steak- cost more than 30 bucks? What value do coins have any more? What can anyone buy for one dollar?

These questions help prove inflation. Nothing of value is worth less than 10 dollars. You can’t get a good meal without spending more than 30 bucks- which for some people is two hard hours of work.

Workers' unions ask for better pay and higher wages. Sure, they receive it. They bargain and get what they deserve- they work too hard for too little money, and they can’t feed their families. However, relief from money insecurity will always be temporary. If someone else is getting better wages then more people bargain for better pay, a chain reaction then occurs across all industries and all unions, then pretty soon everyone is back to making the same wages but at a higher monetary value. The only thing that increased was the U.S. dollar- not their standard of living or the value of their income. 

The union example proves that late-stage capitalism is close. Inflation will continue until something gives. That something is untold, but whatever it is, it’s going to be big. 

Inflation, too, only hurts the government. These companies can keep increasing prices following inflation numbers. Big companies keep profits high while the public cries out for better pay, prices, and government response. 

These two steps prove that the future needs big change. Even the experts have no idea how to resolve the parenting crisis, inflation, and the overbearing influence of companies on our government. These two steps- the parenting crisis and inflation- should be at the top of the checklist if we want to make the world a better, more promising place.