André Gorz (1923–2007)

«Μόλις έγινες ογδόντα χρονών. Είσαι ακόμα όμορφη, γοητευτική και επιθυμητή. Πάνε πια πενήντα οκτώ χρόνια που ζούμε μαζί και σ’ αγαπώ περισσότερο από ποτέ. Τελευταία σε ξαναερωτεύτηκα για άλλη μια φορά και έχω πάλι μέσα ένα σπαρακτικό κενό που το γεμίζει μονάχα το σώμα show more σου αγκαλιασμένο σφιχτά με το δικό μου. Τη νύχτα βλέπω καμιά φορά έναν άντρα, μέσα σ’ ένα έρημο τοπίο, να περπατά σ’ έναν άδειο δρόμο πίσω από μια νεκροφόρα. Είμαι αυτός ο άντρας. Εσένα μεταφέρει η νεκροφόρα. Δεν θέλω να παραβρεθώ στην καύση σου∙ δεν θέλω να παραλάβω ένα δοχείο με τις στάχτες σου. Ακούω τη φωνή της Καθλίν Φεριέ που τραγουδάει “Die Welt ist leer, Ich will nicht leben mehr” και ξυπνάω. Αφουγκράζομαι την αναπνοή σου, το χέρι μου σε αγγίζει. Και οι δύο θα θέλαμε να μην χρειαστεί να ζήσουμε μετά από τον θάνατο του άλλου. Έχουμε πει πολλές φορές ο ένας στον άλλο πως στην απίθανη περίπτωση που θα είχαμε μια δεύτερη ζωή, θα θέλαμε να την περάσουμε μαζί». show less

Wonderful musings on the state of the late 20th-century economy and a brilliant critique of the concept of rationality - something that really fascinates me. Unfortunately, this is paired with a rather dull final section where Gorz plans and elucidates his own democratic-socialist style economic system. It would seem, and this is reinforced by the appendix being a summary of the text for "Unionists and Activists", that this book was meant more as a contribution to an active and ongoing show more politics rather than a self-sustaining piece of philosophy. That's perfectly fine - good, even! But it doesn't always make for particularly engaging reading. Even besides that though, for me the conclusions of many of Gorz' arguments would reside in a total collapsing of the State -- he, however, engages in a sort of defence and retooling of the welfare state very typical of a 1980s optimism, and it means some of his final remarks lack the weight that they otherwise carried in their spectacular opening sections. All this is to say this text is very much of its time; he even makes some questionable critiques of structuralism and post-structuralism that I think come close to engaging in a sort of alarmist techno-fetishism, but that's as may be given how much I admire much of the rest of the text.

If you liked this and/or found it a bit lacking in some respects, I would heartily recommend Maurice Godelier's Rationality and Irrationality in Economics, which deals with a similar topic in a more firmly post-Marxist ground, if you're not into Gorz' mixture of Marxism and democratic socialism (which, on occasion, I do find a bit grating and condescending). Many of the gaps in this text are filled in by that one, and vice-versa too. They would do well to be read as a pair, but this one is still excellent on its own - just be wary that Gorz' conclusions are not as radical or revolutionary as you might be hoping. show less

Andre Gorz, journalist, activist and pioneer of political ecology writes a long letter about/to his love, his wife, his soul mate, writes about their deep love, their shared life . I read it in one breathless rush, always aware of the fact that only a year after this was first published they decided to take their lives together when she became terminally ill. They simply could not live without one another.

D is the André Gorz’s 82-year-old, terminally ill wife, and this short book is a letter written to her about a year before they both committed suicide at the same time, unable to bear the thought of being parted.

It’s a beautiful story, augmented by a few lovely photos of the couple (I wanted more, actually). The telling is often very beautiful and poignant, although occasionally it’s surprisingly long-winded for such a short book, particularly in the parts where he’s examining some show more hurtful lines he wrote about her in his first book The Traitor. It almost feels sacrilegious to criticise him after all that emotional backstory, but that was my reaction. Another problem I had was that although it’s a letter to D, most of the book is about A, André Gorz. D is praised a lot, but mostly for the way she helped him in his career or in his existential struggles. I didn’t get much sense of what she wanted out of life, other than to be with him.

That said, the beauty outweighs the problems. And Gorz was one of France’s leading 20th-century intellectuals, so there’s plenty of interesting history about intellectual life in mid-century Paris, 1968 etc. Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre figure quite prominently. I related to the couple’s early struggles to be true to their ideals while coping with the practicalities of paying the rent. I liked the way that, over the decades, Gorz came to understand what was truly important in his life, and to let go of so many of the other things that seemed important but weren’t.

In short, it was an excellent book, but not quite the emotional love-letter I had expected. It’s a love-letter written by a philosopher, emotional in places but mostly analytical and contemplative. I read it in one sitting late at night, and would definitely recommend it to others. show less