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.
