Introduction to the Second Edition: Cutting the Edge: What a Difference a Decade Makes? 1

In the first edition of Cutting the Edge (1998) twelve scholars examined different subtopics in the field of radical and critical criminology. Their chapters included stock takings and discussions on a diverse range of subjects including the contemporary relevance of well-known social theorists (e.g., Marx, Weber, Simmel, and Lacan) to critical criminology, the role of the economy in politics and crime in countries that have market economies, the evolution of an integrative criminology, and the application of postmodernist theories to the study of critical criminology.