late capitalism (Spätkapitalismus) A term used in Marxism since the 1930s, but brought into prominence in critical theory by the work of economic historian Ernest Mandel with the publication of Der Spätkapitalismus (1972), translated as Late Capitalism (1975). By late capitalism Mandel meant simply the latest or most current stage of capitalism’s development, namely the transformations that had taken place in the capitalist mode of production since the end of World War II, particularly the explosive growth experienced in the USA, Germany, and Japan. Jameson, Fredric adopts this term and Mandel’s analysis in his account of postmodernism as the most appropriate description of the present epoch.