In analyzing the evolution of contemporary capitalism (automation, informatization, globalization), André Gorz emphasizes the social consequences (unemployment, precarization, inequalities, poverty). Focusing on the transformations of labor (valorization of skills and imagination) that accompany these changes, he deciphers the rise of a general intellect, that capitalism tries to appropriate, but that confuses itself with the “production of the self”, that is, with activities which personal faculties can develop outside subordinated labor. A new, qualitative type of wealth, based on cooperative social links, is created. A basic income is thought of as a transitory existential anchor that makes this flight possible.
Key-words:
André Gorz; Production of the self; Cognitive Capitalism; Basic Income