Marxism's central claim concerning capitalism describes that mode of produc
tion as historically limited and transitory. Yet the theory of long-term ca
pitalist crisis has remained underdeveloped, not least because many Marxist
writers lack confidence in this fundamental project. I outline a theory in
which an immanent critical tendency presses against twin barriers, creatin
g a dilemma of alternative crisis-inducing paths. This scenario appears at
several different sites - central, technical change, workplace, consumption
, financial - which are brought into mutual interrelation. A general pictur
e emerges of a multidimensional critical process of accumulation. The oppor
tunity thus presents itself to bring different levels and styles of Marxist
research into a common theoretical framework that highlights the defining
quality of deepening crisis in maturing capitalist societies.