Late Stage Capitalism and Self-Care

Sustainable Minimalists

Underneath all of life's burdens, many of us experience the triple losses of time, freedom, and mental space. Self-care is generally touted as burnout's antidote, and advocates argue that regular self-care routines lower stress, anxiety, and frustration while simultaneously improving energy, concentration, and overall life satisfaction.

Sounds wonderful, right? But there's a problem with #selfcare culture: In a capitalist society, anything and everything becomes a sellable product or service, self-care included. Indeed, these days the term 'self-care' is often used synonymously with spa days, last-minute getaways, and other actions that require a financial transaction.

On today’s show we attempt to answer this very 2022 question: Is self-care a commodity that is best purchased, or is the idea that taking care of ourselves must be outsourced the epitome of late stage capitalism?

Here's a preview:

[1:15] Differentiating between an expanded view of self-care versus a narrow, contorted one

[4:33] Understanding the ways in which capitalism misconstrues our collective notion of self-care

[8:15] Defining late stage capitalism (with real life examples!)

[12:20] The 4 categories of self-care

[18:30] Communal care is self-care: 3 benefits to thinking of others - not the self! - first

Resources mentioned:

• Why the Phrase 'Late Capitalism' Is Suddenly Everywhere (via The Atlantic)
• We Need To Move On From Self-Care To Something That Cannot Be Captured By Capitalism (via The Guardian)

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