Justification against Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism

The explicit defense of the extreme, often absurd, harms endemic to the decaying phase of capitalism—such as rampant financialization, platform monopolies, climate collapse, and existential precarity—as not only necessary but as signs of a thriving, innovative system. It frames unprecedented levels of inequality, burnout, and societal dysfunction as the exciting, if turbulent, frontier of human progress, where victims are merely those who failed to adapt to a new, faster world they should be grateful for.

Justification against Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism Example: A tech billionaire arguing that the mental health crisis and loneliness epidemic fueled by social media algorithms are "the price of global connection and democratized information," and that those suffering from addiction or misinformation "need to develop better digital literacy." This justification reframes the systemic pathologies of attention economics as a grand, neutral evolution, blaming users for its human costs.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Rationalization against Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism

The cognitive process of explaining the system's deepening failures through a lens of hyper-complexity and inevitability, using concepts like "digital disruption," "the Fourth Industrial Revolution," or "market logic 2.0." It rationalizes surreal outcomes—like billionaires funding space tourism while homelessness surges—as natural results of unstoppable technological and economic forces, not political choices. The suffering is framed as an unfortunate byproduct of a transition too complex to steer.

Rationalization against Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism Example: An economist stating, "While wealth concentration appears extreme, it reflects the supernormal returns of intangible assets and network effects in a digital era. Redistributive policies might inadvertently stifle the innovation driving this new paradigm." This rationalization uses jargon ("intangible assets," "network effects") to portray a political choice—tolerating extreme inequality—as a sophisticated understanding of an inevitable new economic law.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Logicalization against the Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism

The application of a cold, algorithmic logic—often borrowed from Silicon Valley "disruption" playbooks or financial models—to "prove" that the victims of late-stage capitalism are illogical anomalies. It uses the internal metrics of the system (engagement rates, shareholder value, scalability) to construct syllogisms where any human need or community stability that interferes with optimization is deemed inefficient and thus invalid.

Logicalization against the Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism Example: "Premise 1: A business must maximize growth and market share. Premise 2: Our driverless delivery service does this by eliminating 10,000 driving jobs. Premise 3: Those drivers now have time to 'upskill' or pursue the gig economy. Conclusion: Therefore, this displacement is a logical net positive for human potential." This logicalization uses the system's own pathological priorities as first principles, defining human devastation as a rational step in a computation.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026

Trivialization against the Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism

The mocking, aestheticized dismissal of the system's most grotesque outcomes as lifestyle quirks, generational memes, or personal brand opportunities. It turns systemic despair into a series of ironic jokes ("I can't afford to retire, lol"), viral challenges, or content about "quiet quitting" and "bed rotting," thereby dissolving collective rage into atomized, consumable experiences. The violence of the system is trivialized into a mood.

Trivialization against the Victims of Late-Stage Capitalism Example: A viral TikTok trend where users humorously list their "five side hustles" while showing their maxed-out credit cards, set to an upbeat song. The trivialization converts the brutal reality of wage stagnation and the need to work multiple jobs to survive into a relatable, funny personality trait, deflecting anger toward the system into a performance of resilient irony for likes.

by Abzugal February 8, 2026