The wake of the financial crisis has inspired hopes for dramatic change and stirred visions of capitalism’s terminal collapse. Yet capitalism is not on its deathbed, utopia is not in our future, and revolution is not in the cards. In Capitalism on Edge, Albena Azmanova demonstrates that radical progressive change is still attainable, but it must come from an unexpected direction.

Azmanova’s new critique of capitalism focuses on the competitive pursuit of profit rather than on forms of ownership and patterns of wealth distribution. She contends that neoliberal capitalism has mutated into a new form—precarity capitalism—marked by the emergence of a precarious multitude. Widespread economic insecurity ails the 99 percent across differences in income, education, and professional occupation; it is the underlying cause of such diverse hardships as work-related stress and chronic unemployment. In response, Azmanova calls for forging a broad alliance of strange bedfellows whose discontent would challenge not only capitalism’s unfair outcomes but also the drive for profit at its core. To achieve this synthesis, progressive forces need to go beyond the old ideological certitudes of, on the left, fighting inequality and, on the right, increasing competition. Azmanova details reforms that would enable a dramatic transformation of the current system without a revolutionary break. An iconoclastic critique of left orthodoxy, Capitalism on Edge confronts the intellectual and political impasses of our time to discern a new path of emancipation.

"Once in a long while a new book comes along that challenges prevailing patterns of progressive social and economic thought in a way that is both deep and far-reaching, yet still evidently originating from within the critical left, so as—potentially—to prove persuasive to thoughtful and open-minded progressives. Capitalism on Edge is such a book." - Democracy: A Journal of Ideas

"Albena Azmanova’s book Capitalism on Edge provides a stark wake-up call for Critical Theory to not only take the critique of political economy seriously again, but also face up to new social realities: ‘Twentieth-century civilization has collapsed’." - Journal of Classical Sociology

"This is a thought-provoking, absorbing and original book, in tune with changes in precarity capitalism and its politics." - European Journal of Social Theory

"Indeed, a significant strength of the book is that, while conceptually highly sophisticated, Azmanova suggests that the reader can skip over the theoretical chapter and refer to the useful glossary of terms as the need arises. This will undoubtedly help broaden the accessibility of this intervention and ensure that the book influences public as well as scholarly debates." - Philosophy & Social Criticism

"This provocative book will be useful to those in critical studies programs." - Choice

"Ambitious . . . potentially subversive." - Domani

"Azmanova’s book represents critical theory at its best, seamlessly integrating philosophical, sociological, and political perspectives and debates to produce a compelling account of the (non)crisis of capitalism and the current conditions of social change." - Constellations

"As soon as I started reading the Introduction, I was gripped by the lucidity of ideas and clarity of the prose. For an academic text written from the perspective of Critical Theory, this is a wonderfully direct, incisive and insightful book. One does not need to agree with all the details of the analysis to find reading it a rewarding experience." - 3 Quarks Daily

"This is the big-think book of our time. It is a rare successful effort to define the next iteration of capitalism – precarity capitalism – as the successor to neoliberalism." - Project Syndicate