Departing from the assumption that pairing is induced by an retarded external 'bosonic glue', we reformulate the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity as a scaling theory. Conventional superconductors correspond with the asymptotically free case but the theory can be effortlessly generalized to handle quantum critical metals. We find that superconducting Tc's are strongly enhanced in the latter when retardation is strong while the coupling is weak. It appears that this simple scaling theory does account quite well for superconducting properties near quantum critical points.

20 pages, 12 figures, much extended version, added several new sections including one on transition temperature, more references added