Andre Gorz
by Willy Gianinazzi, Chris Turner
The first and exhaustive biography of twentieth-century leftist philosopher André Gorz.
Recognized as one of the most lucid and innovative critics of contemporary capitalism, André Gorz (1923–2007) was known for asking fundamental questions regarding the meaning of life and work. This first biography of a unique figure operating at the confluence of literature, philosophy, and journalism revisits half a century of intellectual and political life.
Born Gerhart Hirsch in Vienna, he studied in Switzerland before opting to live and work in France. A self-taught existentialist thinker, he was constantly revising his view of the world, unafraid to break new theoretical ground in doing so. Influenced by Marx, Husserl, Sartre, and Illich, he had very close affinities with the new thinking on the Left that was coming out of Italy in the 1960s and 70s. He was also one of the first thinkers to shape political ecology and to advocate de-growth. The intellectual on the editorial board of Sartre's journal Les Temps Modernes, Gorz was also a mainstream journalist. He wrote in L'Express under the sobriquet Michel Bosquet before joining others in the creation of Le Nouvel Observateur.
Through Gorz's life journey, we meet not only Sartre and de Beauvoir, but also Herbert Marcuse, Fidel Castro, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Ivan Illich, Félix Guattari, Antonio Negri, and many others. Beyond his poignant autobiographical narratives, The Traitor and Letter to D, which attest to his deep humanity, Gorz remains a precious guide for all who believe that another world is still possible.
Hardcover
English
Brand New
Author Biography
Willy Gianinazzi is a Swiss-born French historian who specializes in the study of revolutionary syndicalism and other radical movements. He lives in Paris, where he was for many years Publications Secretary at the Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales. Chris Turner is a translator and writer living in Birmingham, UK.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Paths to PostcapitalismPART ONEThe Alienation of Modern ManThe 1940s and 1950s: Comfort and ConformismChapter 1. A Stranger to HimselfChapter 2. The Construction of SelfChapter 3. The Third ForceChapter 4. Journalism as CompromiseChapter 5. Alienation in the Affluent SocietyPART TWOLiberation from Work in the Age of AutomationThe 1960s: Fordism and the Welfare StateChapter 6. Revolutionary ReformismChapter 7. Automation and the New Working ClassChapter 8. Arduous SocialismChapter 9. The Ferment of '68PART THREEThe Liberation of Life In a Time of Visceral Opposition to WorkThe 1970s: Zero Growth and EcologyChapter 10. Critique of Technology and ScienceChapter 11. Changing Life, with Ivan IllichChapter 12. Ecological Emergency and De-growthPART FOURFreeing Up Time in the Age of the Dual Society1980s-1990s: Toyotism and the PrecariatChapter 13. Farewells to the Working ClassChapter 14. Autonomy and the Dangers of the Dual SocietyChapter 15. The Invention and End of WorkChapter 16. Beyond the Wage-Based SocietyPART FIVETowards the Civilization of Free: Time in the Era of the ImmaterialThe 2000s: Financialization and Circulation of KnowledgeChapter 17. Toward the Intelligent Society?Chapter 18. Another World is PossibleChapter 19. The Final FreedomAbbreviations and AcronymsBibliography and SourcesIndex of Names
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